04 Mar 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, a means of restoring faith in you, be responsible and stay safe, bring backsliders back to your fold, brotherly LOVE, concerned about sin, Covid-19 virus, dead man-made idols, destruction unto them, embrace your love and compassion, Friday chant, giving thanks to his name, I am the Lord that is my name, introduce a new flock, Lenten season, let us offer the sacrifice of praise, living creations of Almighty God, LOVE, my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images, our sinful world can wake up, praising idols, return unto the Lord thy God, seeking the kingdom of God, show them the error of their ways, stand strong and steadfast, take away all iniquity, the fruit of our lips, they have fled from me, thou hast fallen by thy iniquity, use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets, wake up and smell the coffee, we will render the calves of our lips, wise guidance, woe unto them
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.
So now it’s Friday…and our spirits are lifted because work will soon be done and the weekend will be open for fun and frolic. But please remember that we are now in the Lenten Season, which means we have cut down some on the fun and frolic, getting a li’l more serious about our life with Christ. Concentrating on opening up our true selves to Him, and getting to know Him better, through prayer, meditation, fasting and sincere brotherly LOVE.
In this time, we ought to be seriously concerned about the sin in our lives and truly seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness with a sense of purpose, so that we can be liberated by His awesome power and our worldly needs met through His divine intervention. Ah friends, if there’s ever a time when we need to seek God it’s in this season of Lent and the numerous problems facing us worldwide.
It recalls the words of the prophet Hosea when he entreated Israel to return to the Lord with these prophetic statements. ‘O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thy iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him. Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves (sacrifices) of our lips. Ashur (Assyria) shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say anymore to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.’ (Hos.14:1-3)
Oh my people, if we ever hope to improve our worldly condition, we ought to pay serious attention to the words of the prophet, because there’s no doubt that we have replicated Israel’s situation from way back then. We have turned away from God, foolishly worshipping the idols of our own hands and minds. Yes, our iniquity has completely overtaken us, like it had done to Israel, no wonder the sad and sorry state of confusion, strife and disaster we are now experiencing.
And the scholars offer this explanation of those verses above. ‘14: 1-3. Calves of our lips: The word calves (Heb. par, “a young bull or produce”) is best understood metaphorically, referring to the words that the lips produce – in this context praise to the Lord. The nation (of Israel) had used its lips to praise the idolatrous calves, now it will use its lips in praise to the Lord God.’
And that’s exactly what we have been doing for the last generation – praising idols, but it’s time now to turn back to the God of our forefathers, who is the Only One who can protect us and keep us save from the wiles and deceits of the enemy. He is the Only One who can provide grace and mercy to us, who are so badly in need of a gracious and merciful Father. Other created men and animals, or our dead self-created idols cannot save or help us; only the One who created us in the first place, can now provide sanctuary and solve our many serious problems.
And this other verse from Hosea re Israel’s rebellion also applies to our recent folly. ‘Woe unto them (Israel)! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.’ (Hos. 7:13)
Yes friends, although our good and ever-faithful God has redeemed us through the sacrificial blood of His Son Jesus, we have still turned away from Him and been blaspheming and lying on Him with such a fierceness that many others have also turned away from Him, and now it’s our concerted effort to remove Him completely from our society.
But as I keep saying, that’s a fool’s wisdom, for it will never happen, because the Lord will never give up His power and glory to any other. He’s said that quite clearly 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)
That to me is quite plain and straightforward, but so many of us seem to believe otherwise, else we would not be trying to replace the Creator with dead graven images. However, this verse from the Book of Hebrews points us in the direction in which we ought to go if we truly need salvation. It says: ‘By him (Jesus) therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks (confessing to) his name.’ (Heb. 13:15)
Yes my brethren, it’s certainly time to turn back to our Creator and offer our prayers and praise to Him instead of the evil enemy who’s only bent on keeping us in his evil clutches, away from the grace and mercy of our heavenly Father. And the first step in that direction is always sincere prayer. So let’s go there right now nuh, through our Friday Chant and place our desires with confidence before the heavenly throne, knowing that sincere prayer will never be turned away by our Creator.
Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets.
So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways.
And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now, please remember that we have to keep our promises, if we expect the Lord to keep His. Much LOVE!
…how can dead man-made idols…save living creations of Almighty God…it’s totally impossible…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
11 Feb 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, a means of restoring faith in you, a society only grows through work, an injection of godly wisdom, avoid any more serious setbacks, be obedient, bring backsliders back to your fold, cause those that love me to inherit substance, driven with the wind and tossed, durable riches and righteousness, embrace your love and compassion, Friday chant, giveth to all men liberally, he that wavereth is like a wave, I lead in the way of righteousness, I love them that love me, if any of you lack wisdom, in the midst of the paths of judgement, introduce a new flock, keep the commandments, let him ask in faith, let him ask of god, LOVE, my fruit is better than gold, my revenue than choice silver, not doubting, nothing wavering, omnipotent help, our sinful world can wake up, riches and honour, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, show them the error of their ways, smell the coffee, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the anxiety confusion and havoc, those that seek me early will find me, time to party, true obedience, trusting faith, wise guidance
Proverbs 8:17. I LOVE them that LOVE me; and those that seek me early (diligently) shall find me.
Then it was Friday, that long awaited day. And everybody shouted ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! And the weekend is here! Time to party!’ Yes, it’s surprising at how eagerly and addictively we look forward to the end of the work week, as though work is such an enigma, such a problem, that we just want to be rid of it. But friends, the only way we progress, get ahead, succeed, is through work. And we do need a break from it every so often, but the disgust and hate that our current society shows towards work is very disheartening.
So many of us tend to think that work is below us, we shouldn’t have to work, and we are entitled to just pay, play and party. But unfortunately, that’s a fool’s wisdom. A society only grows by the amount of work its members put into it. No work equals no growth. Little work equals little growth. Plenty work equals plenty growth. That’s just the facts of life. And that’s why our society is slowly going down the drain. Not enough of us are working to keep the standards high. And when the standards of a society fall, so does the society itself.
And how do we turn around that situation eh? I believe it’s through an injection of wisdom into our society, that’s godly wisdom, not the wisdom of the world. And I just rediscovered a li’l gem from Proverbs 8, where Cousin Sol is talking about wisdom is everlasting. Now that gem says: ‘I LOVE them that LOVE me; and those that seek me early (diligently) shall find me.’ (Prov. 8:17) And that’s the gospel truth my brethren. Those of us who seek godly wisdom diligently will indeed find it.
And James, Jesus’ brother, said it thus. ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (without reproach), and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (not doubting). For he that wavereth (doubts) is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.’ (James 1:5-8)
Now it couldn’t be put any clearer than that! So friends, strong, unwavering faith is also necessary to acquiring godly wisdom. We can’t be wishy washy about it; one day up, the next day down, but need to walk a steadfast path. And if yuh think is joke we joking here, (smile) just listen to the things that godly wisdom does for its benefactors nuh.
‘Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable (enduring) riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. I lead (walk) in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgement (justice): That I may cause those that LOVE me to inherit substance (wealth); and I will fill up their treasures.’ (Prov. 8:18-21)
Oh my people, you see how godly wisdom gives you everything; riches and honour as well as righteousness and justice! And most important of all, those things are enduring. They don’t blow up unexpectedly in your face when some unfortunate situation occurs, like the stuff that comes from the world’s wisdom, because they come from God and are everlasting! Like Jesus said, ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33)
Ah my fellow saints, we only have two options, two ways of living this earthly life: either under the rule of Jehovah God, our Creator and Controller, or under the ham-fisted rule of Satan, the foolish usurper. And the truth is, that whatever Satan can give you, Jehovah God can give you the same, and more too. And what He gives you will be enduring and long lasting, not fragile and fanciful like Satan’s offering, without any real truth, substance, peace and joy to it. That’s because Satan’s storefront is only a pretty façade. When you go behind its fanciful front, all you’ll find is chaos, confusion, hellfire and eternal damnation.
And we do have to be ever so careful about where we will end up come the ending of this mortal life. That’s why it’s ever so important for us to choose to live by godly standards and wisdom rather than by that of the world. And yuh better believe that right now we desperately need God’s wisdom with all the problems that are engulfing our world and turning it into bloody battlefield, both literally and figuratively. So please, let’s go to Him in prayer, through our Friday Chant, not wavering, but with steadfast faith, asking for His omnipotent help and wisdom to handle the massive storm that’s currently overwhelming us.
As one strong, but faithful and humble voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks.
And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And we need to remember that to get a positive answer, we must keep the vows we’ve just made, be obedient and keep the Lord’s commandments. That’s wisdom to the nth degree! Much LOVE!
…true obedience to anything…only shows…when we keep the rules…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
28 Jan 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a guideline for our daily lives, a means of restoring faith in you, abstain from all appearance of evil, an attitude of prayer, anything praiseworthy, be not overcome of evil, be responsible and stay safe, bring backsliders back to your fold, by the example, despise not prophesying, embrace your love and compassion, faithful is He that calls you, Friday chant, hold fast that which is good, in every thing give thanks, in the face of adversity, Jesus abounding in our souls, living for Christ, LOVE, maintain gratitude, of good report, omnipotent help, our sinful world, overcome evil with good, positive changes, pray without ceasing, provide things honest to all men, quench not the Spirit, recompense to no man evil for evil, rejoice evermore, sanctify you wholly, show them the error of their ways, takes your breath away, the anxietym confusion, the God of peace, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, think on these things, this is the day the Lord has made, this is the will of God, trusting faith, wake up and smell the coffee, we will rejoice and be glad in it, whatsoever things are true, winter wonderland, your faithful believers set
1 Thessalonians 5:16. Rejoice evermore.
Ah my Scrip-Bit friends and family, this Friday morning has opened beautifully, like a true winter wonderland, with the sun shining so brightly that its reflection off the snow tends to blind you, if you look at it too closely! (smile) And the temperature is just right for such a day too, around minus 16 Celsius. No, I’m not crazy, a certain kind of day deserves a certain temperature. And then we have Jesus abounding in our souls, spirits and bodies, so what more can we ask eh? Nothing!
So let’s say it like we mean it nuh: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it! Oh yes my people, every day is made for rejoicing, but some like this one, just takes your breath away, and you can’t do anything else but rejoice; rejoice and give thanks! And that just recalls these marvellous passages of scripture, featuring Bruh Paul’s immortal words to the Thessalonians, where he encourages them to:
‘ Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance (every form) of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who will also do it.’ (1 Thess. 5:16-24)
Wow friends! That’s one of those bits of scripture, that sort of includes everything a believer needs to live a good Christian life! And the nice thing about it is that it’s simple and straightforward, as well as practical. So, I would suggest we use it as a guideline for our daily lives, where we rejoice that we are alive and have Jesus who reconciles us to God and offers us the most wonderful gift of salvation for simply believing in Him.
And to help us with all our daily problems we just keep talking to God about everything, not necessarily continuously or audibly, but having an attitude of prayer throughout our day. And for all of that my fellow saints, giving thanks to our wonderful God in any and everything is paramount, because that’s what He expects of us. As the scholars explain: ‘5:18. In every event or circumstance (thing) the Christian is to give thanks to God for the good He can bring out of the event even should the event be unpleasant. The constant attitude of prayer, mentioned in verse 17, will help the believer maintain gratitude in the face of adversity.’
Ah friends, that’s like how we say one hand washes the other; prayer helps us to stay thankful regardless of our circumstances! Then we come to a big one: ‘Quench not the Spirit.’ Now that is possibly the most important aspect of Christian living, for the Holy Spirit of God has been placed within us to lead and guide us in a godly life on this ungodly earth. And when you ‘Quench it,’ that means, ‘stifle’ or ‘suppress it’ then it cannot do the job it was sent to do. As the scholars tell us, we are hindered in rejoicing, in prayer, in giving thanks during adversity, and despising prophetic utterances inspired by the Spirit.
It’s basically what Bruh Paul said to Ephesians: ‘And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.’ (Eph. 4:30) And yuh know what friends, the more we suppress, stifle or repress the Holy Spirit of God in our lives, the less it is able to act on our behalf. It doesn’t sound as loud and clear as it once did, and we are basically left to paddle our own canoe, which certainly is not a wise action.
Then we come to the next practical aspect of Christian living as prescribed by Bruh Paul to the Thessalonians. ‘Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.’ (vs. 21) That means be careful of what you believe, try and prove them before you believe them, and hang on to the good ones. It’s similar to what he said more explicitly to the Philippians. ‘Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest (noble), whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise (anything praiseworthy), think (meditate) on these things.’ (Phil. 4:8)
Yes, believers need to think or meditate on the right things, if we want to do the right things, which is ‘Abstain from all appearance of evil.’ (vs.22) And what does that mean? It’s like Bruh Paul explained in his message to the church at Rome. ‘Recompense (repay) to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men (have regard for good things)… Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.’ (Rom. 12:17, 21).
It couldn’t be any clearer than that my faithful brethren. And when we follow those basic rules, then our spirits, bodies and souls will be sanctified, set apart for our faithful God, and the surpassing peace He promised, will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. And the peace of God is the supreme blessing on this riotous, ungodly, deceitful, evil and unfaithful world. When you have that nothing bothers you, and you can go about Christ’s will with diligence and excellence.
But where I believe we’ve been most sadly lacking in our Christian journey is in the department of prayer. We haven’t been doing that prayer without ceasing thing. But it’s not too late to begin. So let’s do that right now nuh, let’s go to God in prayer, through our Friday Chant. Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks.
And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now, please let’s remember all the stuff we’ve talked about today, and do what it takes to be a true and faithful believer, if we want to see positive changes in our lives and in our world. Much LOVE!
…successfully living for Christ is not easy…but following the guidance of His Holy Spirit…enables us to live right…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
31 Dec 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, avoid any more serious setbacks, be responsible, bey the example, bring a lot of backsliders, embrace your love and compassion, fight it as one, good intentions don't mean anything, heartfelt matters, in close proximity to each other, introduce a new flock, lest ye enter into temptation, let a deadly foe divide and conquer them, Lord we desperately need your help, loss of a child, LOVE, maskless people, New Year's Eve, refuse to take the necessary precautions, show them the error of their ways, spreading like wildfire, stay safe, the confusion and havoc, the flesh is weak, the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, the Omicron variant, the spirit against the flesh, the spirit truly is ready, the wise guidance, the worst thing that can happen to a parent, they become good actions, to stand before the Son of man, under the trials of the hour, wake up and smell the coffee, walk in the Spirit, watch ye and pray, we your faithful believers set, weighed down with surfeiting, ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things, ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh, your hearts be overcharged
Mark 14:38. Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.
Ah friends, let me apologize for the Bit being late, but I had some other heartfelt matters to attend to first. You know that saying when you think you have things bad, somebody else has worse problems than you. Now that’s the gospel truth! And life just takes pleasure in playing these little games with us. This morning I came down to write the bit, complaining about my aches and pains, only to open my e-mail and find a note from an old friend, regarding the funeral for the son of another old friend in T&T.
The funeral service was being streamed so I just had to watch it. And though my friend Haydn’s face was masked, I could see the terrible sadness and sorrow in the way he walked and his general deportment, because the worst thing that can ever happen to a parent, unfortunately happened to him, he lost a child to heaven, while he himself was still alive. Now that’s something I’ve always warned my children about; please don’t die before me, because I don’t know if I could handle it, and I don’t want to know either!
Now my friend is a medical doctor, and apparently his son died from Covid. So if a doctor can’t save his son, then who can be saved eh? It’s a rather trying situation my brethren. All over the world hundreds and thousands of people are dying from the virus, but yet, we are not taking the situation as seriously as we ought to. What’s it going to take eh? And today is New Year’s Eve, the night of the biggest parties around the globe. And believe me, there will be many big parties tonight, with maskless people in close proximity to each other, hugging and kissing, ringing in the New Year with joyful abandon.
But how many of those are going to live to see the end of that New Year eh? Definitely not all, if we don’t get our act together, sooner rather than later. The Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus is spreading like wildfire and we still refuse to take the necessary precautions to fight the bloody virus. It killed us in 2020, when we didn’t know much about it. It killed us in 2021, when we knew more about it. And it’s going to keep on killing us in 2022, if we don’t smarten up and come together and fight it as one!
And who knows if another more dangerous variant will soon pop up, to muddy the waters even more. Mankind is the most stubborn, foolishly proud, and hard-headed of all God’s creations! Even the wild animals with no sense of reason know better than to let a deadly foe divide and conquer them. But that’s why our world is in such a sad state of deterioration and destruction, with evil and ungodly strife, plus all the other negative emotions currently being so rampant and thus leading the way to our imminent demise.
Oh my people, it’s only through, togetherness; that’s LOVE, compassion and mercy for and to each other, will we ever be able to overcome our deadly enemy, the devil and his evil minions, who want to destroy our world. And it’s ONLY JESUS who can help us to accomplish that immense but not impossible task. But as He told His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane: ‘Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.’ (Mark 14:38)
Yes my fellow believers, it’s ever so important that we don’t allow the carnal lusts of our mortal flesh, the lies and deceits of the enemy, to influence our behaviour. Thus, these immortal words of Bruh Paul to the Galatians, re walking in the Spirit. ‘This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.’ (Gal. 5:16-18)
Oh friends, when we yield to the Spirit’s leading, we yearn to put sin out of our daily life, and He enables us to do it. And Luke, uniquely in his gospel, further expounds on that theory, when he quotes Jesus, saying: ‘And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged (weighed down) with surfeiting (carousing), and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth: Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.’ (Luke 21:34-36)
And the scholars offer these interesting and important explanations. ‘21:34. Surfeiting means “to indulge one’s appetites excessively.” No believer is beyond the temptation to fall into sin. Jesus warns against slackness and lack of daily readiness in the Christian walk.’ And yuh better believe that tonight, all around the world there will be lots of ‘surfeiting’, carousing, debauchery and lots of slackness all in the name of ringing in the New Year, with lots of resolutions and good intentions that will fall apart as soon as the year returns to normal, with the drudgery of everyday work and living asserting themselves.
But listen to this explanation from the scholars re verse ‘21:36. Prayer is the better part of valour when persevering for Christ under pressure. Prayer alone will enable one to stand before the returning Son of man when those all around are falling, whether in condemnation before Christ or to the temptation to deny Christ under the trials of the hour.’ Blessed be the holy name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, my people!
And since prayer is so important in our staying godly and righteous, let’s go to God right now in prayer, through our Friday Chant, sincerely seeking His help for our many problems. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks.
And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And I shouldn’t have to remind us, but I will (smile), that ONLY if we set a good example as faithful believers, will the Lord seriously and sincerely entertain our prayer. Much LOVE!
…good intentions don’t mean a thing…until they become good actions…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
24 Dec 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a calamitous state, a divine manifestation, a jealous fit of rage, all we have achieved comes from God, back to your fold, born king of the Jews, bring a lot of backsliders, by the example, celebrate Christ's birth, christmas eve, Covid-19 virus, embrace your love and compassion, expensive gifts fit for a king, frankincense, Friday chant, God can pull victory from seeming defeat, God moving in mysterious ways, God's divine handiwork, gold, have come to worship him, Herod on the warpath, His wonders to perform, introduce a whole new flock, LOVE, Merry Christmas, myrrh, omnipotent help, Satan blinded our eyes, see the writing on the wall, shack up in the fires of hell, show them the error of their ways, the Birth of Christ, the foolish archangel, the graceful and merciful auspices of Jehovah God, the greatest gift ever given to man, the miraculous moment in time, the ultimate reason for the season, truly living for Him, trying to kick God out, wander the earth in shame and disgrace, warned of God in a dream, we have seen his star in the east, your faithful believers set
Matthew 2:2. Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
So it’s Christmas Eve mih people! Just one more day to the Big One. Imagine nuh, tomorrow this time the celebrations, the Christmas festivities will be in full swing. But please, please, let’s remember the ultimate reason for the season, in fact the one and only reason for the season; that’s the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
And don’t only concentrate on the food and gifts, but spend a few moments considering and contemplating the wonderful present that our heavenly Father gifted us with some two thousand years ago, and how things would have been in an even more disastrous mess, if He hadn’t given us the greatest gift ever, His One Son, Christ Jesus to save us from the bondage of sin!
But it’s sad that the greatest gift ever given to man has been turned into one of the greatest economic and money-making events in today’s world, with the real reason for Christmas totally forgotten, with people even refusing to say Merry Christmas, but talking nonsense about ‘Happy Holidays!’ Where did the blooming happy holidays come from eh? From the birth of Christ! That’s where! So please let’s give Him the accolades He deserves nuh, and stop trying to remove Him from our society. And then we wonder why our world is in such a calamitous state!
The answer begins right there; trying to kick God out, being disobedient and ungodly! Remember what He did to Satan when the foolish archangel, a mere creation, tried to overthrow Him in heaven? He kicked him out of the plush job and comfortable surroundings he had, to wander the earth in shame and disgrace and shack up in the fires of hell! Now we, another creation, are listening to that fool and his evil minions and are trying to rid our society of its Maker and Controller. Why do you think we will suffer a fate any different to Satan’s eh?
And that’s exactly why He sent Jesus to earth, to give us another option beside that offered by his evil highness. But we’re so full of ourselves, figure we’re such hot shots with our high-class civilization, that we no longer need God. What a joke! Can’t we see my brethren, or has Satan blinded our eyes so much to the fact that all we have, all we are and all we have achieved and accomplished have come through the graceful and merciful auspices of Jehovah God Himself? I guess not, otherwise we would not be in such a hurry to move Him out and forget Him.
Remember the birth of Jesus was so important that three wise men (magi) from far off lands made the long journey to see the li’l baby boy born in the stable, wrapped in swaddling bands, lying in a manger (feed trough). And note what they said: ‘Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.’ (Matt. 2:2)
Yes friends, other people also knew about the coming of the Messiah, possibly descendants of the Jews, from their sojourn in distant lands through captivity and migration, and it was so important to them that they travelled a far distance to behold the miraculous moment in time. And to top it all off, they brought gifts, expensive and most appropriate for a king; gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Now, obviously since they were expecting a king to be born, the magi went to Jerusalem, the royal capital of Israel, to Herod the current king to find out His whereabouts. Herod knew nothing about any king being born, but found out through the Jewish leaders where the Messiah was supposed to be born; Bethlehem of Judea. And I like how the Good Book puts it. ‘And he (Herod) sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.’ (Matt. 2:8-12).
Yuh see mih bredrin, that was our God moving in those mysterious ways of His, His wonders to perform. First having a star guide them to the birth place of Jesus, then a divine revelation not to go back to Herod. And as the scholars explain ‘His star’ (vs 2) could not have been merely a natural phenomenon, since it led the wise men to Jerusalem and later to Bethlehem. It almost certainly was a divine manifestation used by God to indicate the fact and place of the Messiah’s birth.’
That’s the gospel truth my people, it was nothing less than our omnipotent God’s divine handiwork! The same way it was shortly after when Joseph, Jesus’ father had a vision to take his family to Egypt because Herod would soon be on the warpath, killing Jewish children under two years of age, in a jealous fit of rage that some uppity Jewish child would want to take his throne away from him and his family. Just like us, Herod didn’t realize that he was just a man, created by a higher being than himself, who could pull victory from seeming defeat.
Oh my fellow saints, this Christmas Eve day, let’s wake up and see the writing on the wall nuh. The Lord is on His throne in the high heavens, controlling things, and unless we come to our senses and refute Satan and all that he stands for, we will end up just like him; in the fires of Hades, with no chance whatsoever of making it to heaven. So, in wisdom and understanding, let’s go to God in prayer, through our Friday Chant, pleading for His divine help.
As one strong, confident, sincere but humble voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets.
So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways.
And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now, it’s the same as it has always been; if we keep our promises and be obedient to God’s will, then He will answer our prayers in a positive manner. Much LOVE!
…to truly celebrate Christ’s birth…means we must be truly living for Him…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
03 Dec 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, back to your fold, belong mercies and forgivenesses, bring a lot of backsliders, castigates you for your sloppiness, defeat both the virus and the unrest, embrace your love and compassion, Friday chant, frustrating strums of life, how wonderful to have Jesus, if thou wilt not hearken to the voice of the Lord, LOVE, Moses warned the people of Israel, Nehemiah's prayer, omnipotent help, one more day of life being life, rebelling against God is utter foolishness, righteousness belongeth unto thee, show them the error of their ways, there is no god, these curses shall come upon thee, though we have rebelled against him, to calm and protect us, to the Lord our God, trying to turf God out, unto us confusion of face, wake up and smell the coffee, we have dealt very corruptly against thee, wise guidance
Daniel 9:9. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him.
Just one more day…one more day of life being life! Steups! Yuh know, those days when everything just seems to go wrong right from the start. You wake up feeling lousy, with a headache, and then as you try to get out of bed, a cramp suddenly hits you in your right thigh. But thank the Lord it is not one of the terrible ones, so you only moan and groan and try to calm it for about five or six minutes.
Then a li’l later, you are coming down the basement steps to write the Bit with a cup of sweet java in your hand, next thing you stumble and spill some of it on the steps. So, you must clean that up before the duchess sees it and castigates you for your sloppiness. And then outside it seems to be another grey looking day.
Brother! I’ve never seen so much cloud cover in my life! There’s no day where the sun just seems to shine with no surrounding dark clouds. How wonderful it is to have Jesus and His Holy Spirit dwelling within us, and walking beside us to calm and protect us from all those irritating and frustrating storms of life! And all God’s children said a loud and grateful: ‘Thank You Lord!’
Yes friends, we need to be ever so thankful for Jesus because even with His divine help, life still gets difficult. So, can you imagine if we didn’t have Him, or how those who don’t have Him manage? And yuh know what, the Good Book opened at an interesting passage of scripture this morning which I believe is oh so appropriate for our times. It comes from Nehemiah’s prayer for his people Israel when told of Jerusalem’s sorry state. He admitted to God: ‘We have dealt (acted) very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgements (ordinances), which thou commandedest thy servant Moses.’ (Neh. 1:7)
Ah mih people, there’s no disputing that we have done the exact same thing; turned away from the God of our forefathers! No wonder our world is in such a terrible state. Way back when, Moses had warned the children of Israel: ‘But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto (listen to) the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do (obey) all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee. (Deut. 28:15)
And just for our information, the blessings in that chapter run from verse 3-14, but the curses from verse 16-68. I don’t need to tell us that the curses were more numerous and disastrous. It’s sad, but all down through the ages, the supposed people of God have at one time or another turned away from Him and paid a terrible price for their disobedience. The psalmist said it when he wrote in Psalm 106, titled, Israel sins against God’s LOVE. ‘We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.’ (Ps. 106:6)
And Daniel said it thus in his prayer for Israel when they were in captivity in Babylon. ‘We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgements.’ (Dan. 9:5) Oh, for certain sure my brethren, we have sinned and done dastardly deeds against our wonderful God! We have rebelled against Him, especially by trying to turf Him in no uncertain terms from our society, from the world and all therein that He so thoughtfully created.
The awful cry these days is ‘There is no God!’ But most of us know better than that; that there is a God, a true and living God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! A God who will not let us get away with our infantile behaviour forever. And I think Daniel hit the nail on the head when he said in a couple verses later: ‘O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces (shame), as at this day…’ (Dan. 9:7a)
Oh my fellow saints, confusion certainly reigns in our world today, but obviously not enough shame for our sins and wickedness committed against out heavenly Father. Otherwise, we would have already turned back to Him with a great revival, when we saw that we can’t fix our problems in our own strength. But no, we persist in trying to fix it ourselves, and the situation is just getting worse every day.
However, as Daniel also said: ‘To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him.’ (Dan. 9:9) That means our Lord and God is a forgiving and merciful God, and if we swallow our foolish pride and return to His fold, we will be forgiven. So please, let’s wake up nuh, and see the utter folly of trying to fix what’s wrong by ourselves, for only with God’s divine help is it possible. Let’s therefore go to Him in humble repentance and ask for His forgiveness and guidance through our Friday Chant.
Altogether now. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets.
So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways.
And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now, if we want God to help us, we must fulfill those promises we’ve just made. It’s as simple as that. Much LOVE
!…rebelling against God…the Creator and Controller of everything…is utter foolishness…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
24 Sep 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bed of roses, a lot of other lemmings, a sound from heaven, as a means of restoring faith in you, as of a rushing mighty wind, back to your fold, band yuh belly, be responsible and stay safe, began to speak with other tongues, bring a lot of backsliders, Covid 19 virus, embrace your love and compassion, fighting for what you have, filled with the Holy Ghost, Friday chant, guide you through the storms of life, He shall give you another Comforter, I will come to you, I will not leave you comfortless, I will pray the Father, if ye love me keep my commandments, in Jerusalem in all Judea and Samaria, introduce a whole new flock, John truly baptized with water, keep our promises, like as of fire, live the easy life, LOVE, miserable humans, more responsibility to face, mortals are so impatient and lazy, omnipotent help, our sinful world, Pentecost day, serious and unexpected storm, show them the error of their ways, that he may abide with you for ever, the anxiety confusion and havoc, the higher you rise, the Holy Spirit of God, the more complicated and difficult life becomes, the sincerity of our motives, the Spirit of truth, there appeared unto them cloven tongues, trusting faith, unfaithful too, unto the uttermost parts of the earth, use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets, wake up and smell the coffee, wise guidance and direction, ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, ye shall be witnesses unto me
John 14:16. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.
Friday, oh Friday, why have you taken so long to come eh? Didn’t you see us struggling to get through this wretched week? But Friday was having none of it. Uncharacteristically, he lashed out. ‘What do you miserable humans expect of me eh? I am only a day yuh know, just like the other six. I can’t speed up or slow down or do anything at all, except go at the pace that my Creator set for me. So please stop this foolishness of praying for me to go faster and get here quicker! And don’t you realize, that if I got here any sooner, it also means that Monday, which you hate, will also get here quicker too?
Chuh! You mortals are so impatient and lazy! You would do anything to get out of a li’l bit of work! Not only that, but all yuh also blooming unfaithful too, because all yuh have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in all yuh, the same Holy Spirit who promised to lead and guide you through all the storms and tough times of life. But all yuh can’t wait for Him to do that. In fact, all yuh don’t want to go through no storms or tough times at all, yuh just want the easy life like a bed of roses. But that’s never going to happen nuh, so you all better band yuh belly and prepare yourselves, because it have plenty rough and tough times coming up ahead!
And sadly, all that Friday says is true. We feel that because our society has reached a certain level of development, life should keep getting easier and easier. But that’s not the reality of the situation, for the higher you rise, in all walks of life, the more complicated and difficult life actually becomes, You have more stuff to look after and more responsibility to face. Please note that the leaders of any organization or society always have more responsibility than the lower members. It’s their responsibility to keep the society or organization running smoothly and progressing along the stated pathway. And that’s definitely not an easy task!
So this idea we have of rising higher, so that we can live the easy life, is not truly borne out by life at all, since the higher you rise, the harder you have to work to stay at that height, because a whole lot of other lemmings are fighting for your position and what you have. But as Friday so wisely says, we believers in Christ Jesus have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within us to lead and guide and comfort us throughout our earthly journey. But we must listen to Him and take His advice if we are to prosper and enjoy our days down here. Why do you think Jesus placed such emphasis on the Holy Spirit while He was on earth eh? Because He knew its importance.
While Jesus himself could only be in one place at one time, the Holy Spirit could be all about, all the time, dwelling and working simultaneously in each believer’s heart. As He told the disciples: ‘If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless (as orphans): I will come to you.’ (John 14:15-18) What a wonderful promise my fellow believers!
And before Jesus ascended back to heaven He met with the disciples and ‘commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, ye have heard of me. For John (the Baptist) truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence… But ye shall receive power after that (when) the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.’ (Acts 1:4-5, 8)
And so said, so done! We all know the Holy Ghost came upon the believers on that fateful Pentecost day, as they sat in the upper room. The Good Book tells it thus: ‘And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven (divided) tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.’ (Acts 2:2-4)
Yes friends, our mighty God doesn’t do things in a puny way! (smile) And since that day of Pentecost, ALL believers have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit of Christ, enabling them to do and see things that unbelievers cannot do or see. And that’s why our lives can be better and more joyful than the heathen… But we must make the Holy Spirit a major part of our daily living for that to happen, because it does so many useful and wonderful things for us.
In a nutshell, it comforts us when we are lonely, and helps us to comfort others in their rough times, it leads and guides us when we don’t know where to turn or go, intercedes for us, or reads our hearts when we can’t find words to communicate with our heavenly Father. It’s exactly what it’s called, Our Helper! But we must allow it to help us and not ignore all its warnings and directions like so many of us do.
And now it’s time to ask the Holy Spirit to help us sincerely come to the Lord in prayer, through our Friday Chant. So as one voice, with the Spirit’s awesome intercession, let’s pray. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks.
And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now let’s not forget, that the answers to our prayers will depend on the sincerity of our motives, and the way we keep our promises. Much LOVE!
…there’s no better helper or assistant than…the Holy Spirit of God…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
17 Sep 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a heart for God, a man after His own heart, anxiety, avoid serious setbacks, back to your fold, bring a lot of backsliders, confusion and havoc of Covid 19, early will I seek thee, embrace your love and compassion, exhale a huge sigh of relief, faithful believers, Friday chant, give you much thanks and praise, giving me your righteousness, God satisfies the thirsty soul, he is the Lord's anointed, I will lift up my hands in thy name, in a dry and thirsty land, in the shadow of thy wings I will rejoice, introduce a new flock, longing for spiritual renewal, LOVE, my lips shall praise thee, my mouth shall praise thee, my soul shall be satisfied, my soul thirsteth for thee, paying my sin debt in full, reconciled back to the Father, seeking the face of God, show them the error of their ways, sincere believers in Christ Jesus, talk is cheap, the king shall rejoice in God, thou hast been my help, thy loving-kindness is better than life, true faith requires action and sacrifice, unexpected storm, wake up and smell the coffee, with joyful lips
Psalm 63:3. Because thy LOVING-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
It’s the big day of the work week friends – Friday! The day when our spirits finally exhale a huge sigh of relief that work is winding down for a couple days, and hopefully a li’l excitement and enjoyment will enter our lives on the upcoming weekend. But in these unfortunate times of pandemic, strife and all kinds of natural disasters, the chances are not as great as they were a year and a half ago. However, as sincere believers in Christ Jesus, we have an undying, an unending hope that things will turn out right once He is involved.
And all God’s children declared a loud, proud and grateful: ‘Thank You Jesus for being in my life! Thank You for all that You’ve done for me, including paying my sin debt in full on the cross of Calvary, for giving me your righteousness so that I could be reconciled back to the Father, and have everlasting life with You in heaven when my mortal body is no more for this earth! We LOVE You and give You much thanks and praise! Amen!’
And a very good example of that hope and faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are the words of Psalm 63 – God satisfies the thirsting soul – written by Bruh David when he was hiding out in the wilderness from his nemesis, King Saul. Bruh David, in his anguish and uncertainty writes: ‘O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is. To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary (so have I looked for thee).’ (Ps. 63:1-2)
That’s what you call hope and faith friends! In the midst of his problems, Bruh David is still concerned with seeking the face of God because he knows that’s his only hope for successfully getting out of those problems. In our time of adversity, do we seek the Lord with an ever-increasing intensity and fervour, or do we get angry and complain about why those problems are happening to us, and why the Lord didn’t prevent them in the first place?
Ah mih people, I know our first tendency is always to complain, but remember the Lord is the Boss and He moves in mysterious ways, and has a plan for each and every life, and within those plans are times of adversity and hardship that He thinks are necessary to develop our faith and trust in Him. And we can take Bruh David as a good example of that. He was anointed king in his teenaged years, and he did mighty deeds in his early twenties, that had the women dancing and singing, ‘Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands,’ (1 Sam. 18:7) but it was not until he was in his thirties, some twenty years after he was first anointed, that he finally became king.
And during those wilderness years, he experienced a whole heap of trouble, including constantly running from Saul, who wanted to kill him through simple jealousy. And Bruh David had a couple of opportunities to kill Saul, but simply refused to, saying ‘I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the Lord’s anointed.’ (1 Sam. 24:10) And that’s the same Saul who was trying to kill him for no good reason. No wonder the Lord considered him His friend and a man after His own heart.
And though he was struggling and suffering in the wilderness Bruh David continued writing in the psalm: ‘Because thy LOVING-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow (the best) and fatness (abundance); and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips. When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.’ (Ps. 63:3-6)
Oh friends, what a heart for God Bruh David had. Do we even come close to that? We need to, because it’s only when we truly believe and live our belief that the Lord moves heaven and earth to satisfy our needs and desires. Can we be in the wilderness, hungry, thirsty and afraid and still conjure up thanks and praise for Almighty God? Bruh David did it. He further declares: ‘Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after (close behind) thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.’ (Ps. 63:7-8) There is no remorse or bitterness in his supplication, despite his tough circumstances.
And then he concludes, with even further assurance. ‘But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion (a prey) for foxes (jackals). But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.’ (Ps. 63:8-11) Oh my fellow saints, what powerful faith and trust!
And I like how the scholars explain it. ‘Psalm 63. The location of the writing of the psalm is described generally as in the wilderness of Judah. Unlike many of the psalms written in these dire situations, however, this psalm is overflowing with thanksgiving rather than lament and petition. David declares his longing for spiritual renewal (vs. 1-2), he expresses his thankful mood (vs. 3-6), he gives voice to his trust in God (vs. 7-8), and he announces his hope for the future (vs. 9-11). Enemies are mentioned only in passing (vs.9-10).’
That is how we ought to live as faithful believers, my brethren. The Lord God Jehovah must mean, and be EVERYTHING to us, and eternal faith and trust in Him and His awesome promises must make our souls burst with praise and thanksgiving, even in our worst adversity. That means in troubled times like we are now experiencing, our faith and trust ought to rise to the top and push our fears and anxieties to the bottom. And the best way to do that is like Bruh David did, in and through prayer. So, let’s take our problems to God right now nuh, as we declare our Friday Chant.
‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets.
So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways.
And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!
Please remember though, that our God isn’t looking for talk from us, but action, so until we truly behave like faithful believers, our prayers won’t be answered positively. Much LOVE!
…talk is cheap…but true faith requires action and sacrifice…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
27 Aug 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: affluent entitled society, after he had patiently endured he received the promise, anxiety, avoid any more serious setbacks, be of good courage, be patient therefore brethren, be responsible and stay safe, be ye also patient stablish your hearts, bring backsliders back to your fold, Christ is our enabler, come to the end of our rope, confusion and havoc of Covid 19, embrace your love and compassion, faithful believers, Friday chant, gives us our second wind, go with him twain, hath long patience, he shall strengthen thine heart, he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly, he that is slow to wrath, humbleness of mind, in Christ's economy patience is a must, in your patience posses ye your souls, introduce a whole new flock, is of great understanding, joy, living the good life, long-suffering, LOVE, omnipotent help, our emergency strength, patience is born of trials and tribulations, peace, Rest in the Lord, shall mount up with wings like eagles, shall renew their strength, show them the error of their ways, sinful world, tender mercies, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the coming of the Lord draweth nigh, the example we set, the fruit of Spirit is love, there shall not a hair of your head perish, they shall run and not be weary, they that wait upon the Lord, unto the coming of the Lord, wait pateintly on the Lord, wait patiently for him, wait patiently I say on the Lord, wake up and smell the coffee, walk and not faint, whosever shall compel thee to go a mile, ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake
Galatians 5:22. But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering…
And then there was a big collective sigh…with a mumbling of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! I couldn’t go on for one more day like this nuh!’ Ah friends, we always think we can’t go on, that we’ve come to the end of our rope, because our capacity for stress and strain is ever so low these days in our affluent, entitled society. But in truth, when the heifer dust really hits the fan, we discover that there’s another gear we can put our lives into; that’s the one where Christ Jesus reigns. Glory be!
Yes, if we needed to go on one, or even two more days, He would have enabled us to do it, because He is our enabler, the pent up or emergency strength that gives us our second wind. As Bruh David so assuredly writes in Psalm 138: ‘Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.’ (Ps. 138:7)
Wow! What a most definitive promise my people! That’s exactly what I was saying; the Lord will always give us the strength to go on, even though we think we don’t have it. And when Jesus says in His spiel on LOVING your enemies: ‘And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain (two).’ (Matt. 5:41) How do you think we will get the strength to do that eh? He will provide it because we are doing whatever it is in His name, as His agent and ambassador!
Ah friends, despite having the Lord God Almighty in our corner, these days we give up much too easily. That’s because we have become too soft and lazy, living the good life with all the wonderful amenities our society provides. We don’t have to struggle much for anything nowadays, for almost everything is right at our fingertips, which means our patience level has also declined, we want everything so quickly, sometimes even like yesterday. But in Christ’s economy friends, waiting, that’s patience, is a must!
And the first thing we need to know is that patience doesn’t come overnight or easily. It is born of trials and tribulations. So, if you are thinking about acquiring patience, just be sure that you will endure problems, because that’s the only way to acquire it. And it’s ever so important in a believer’s life because it is listed as one of the fruit of the Spirit. ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering…’ (Gal. 5:22) Yes, that’s patience. It’s only a nice word for long-suffering. (smile)
Now let’s look at a few scriptures that try to teach us about patience nuh. And we’ll begin with this one from Jesus, that we seldom pay attention to. It’s when He is talking about the end times. He says to the disciples: ‘And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. But there shall not a hair of your head perish. In your patience possess ye your souls.’ (Luke 21:17-19) That means we need to have patience and wait until whenever the Lord decides to do His thing. But in the waiting, we won’t be harmed.
Meanwhile Hebrews tells us this about Abraham. ‘And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.’ (Heb. 6:15) And we all know that the Lord called Abraham out from among his family to go out to an unknown land, and promised him a son from his own loins, but it all took a long time with much wandering and frustration, but Abraham kept the faith and eventually received all that the Lord had promised Him.
Meanwhile we have this amazing but oh so truthful verse from Bruh David out of Psalm 37 that says it loud and clear. ‘Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him that prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass.’ (Ps. 37:7) And Bruh David, like Abraham, was another man of God, promised great things, anointed king in his teens, but had to endure a lot of hardship and learn patience before he received the promise.
We can never leave out this awesome verse from Isaiah either. ‘But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ (Is. 40:31) And Bruh Paul adds a few scriptures of his own too. First off, he tells Timothy: ‘Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering (patience), for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.’ (1 Tim. 1:16)
Yes friends, Bruh Paul endured a lot of hardship for Christ, so that the Gentile believers, including us, could learn from him. Then to the church of Rome, he declared (steups!!!) ‘But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience (perseverance) wait for it.’ (Rom. 8:25) Then to the Colossians on the subject of Christian virtues, he strongly advised: ‘Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved bowels of mercies (tender mercies), kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering.’ (Col. 3:12)
And it’s obvious the wisest man ever must have had something to say on patience, because he didn’t get to be the wisest and richest overnight. (smile) Listen to Cousin Sol. ‘He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit (impulsive) exalteth folly.’ (Prov. 14:29) And you can count on Cousin Sol to hit the nail on the head.
And we’ll end with a timely word from James. ‘Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman (farmer) waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish (establish) your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh (has come near).’ (James 5:7-8) We can never go wrong with those words of wisdom my faithful brethren! Living for Christ does take a lot of patience, waiting, perseverance and long-suffering! But we can all do it, because He enables us with His awesome strength and power.
Now, let’s end as we always do on a Friday, by going to God in prayer, through our Friday Chant. As one voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets.
So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks.
And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. Also, please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And I must remind us, that the answers to our prayers will only be as positive to the extent that we keep our promises. Much LOVE!
…wait (patiently) on the Lord…be of good courage…and he shall strengthen thine heart…wait (patiently)…I say, on the Lord… (Ps. 27:14)
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
13 Aug 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all will be right with your world, be responsible and stay safe, bring backsliders back to your fold, Christ's all-embracing yoke, come unto me all ye that labour, confusion and havoc of Covid 19, faintest not, Friday chant, Friday the 13th, God is the Boss, God runs things His way, He giveth power to the faint, horse of a different colour, I will give thee rest, imagine my crosses nuh, in accordance with His will, Jesus Christ, King of Kings, look me in mih eye, LOVE, mount up with wings as eagles, neither is weary, of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth, omnipotent help, our sinful world, salvation, shall renew their strength, show them the error of their ways, stand strong and steadfast, stronghold, tell me point blank, the Creator of the ends of the earth, the example your faithful believers set, the heavens are the work of thy hands, the Immutability of God, the Lord and Saviour, the One and Only Living God, the Prince of Peace, the same yesterday today and forever, the unchanging character of God, the work scene killing me, there is no searching of His understanding, they shall perish but thou shalt endure, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint, they that wait upon the Lord, this lost sinful and evil world, to them that no might he increaseth strength, trusting faith, wake up and smell the coffee, wax old like a garment, wise guidance, wreaking havoc on mih nerves
Hebrews 13:8. ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.’
Friday, oh Friday! Is about time yuh reach here yes! Even if you are the supposed bad mind, evil, Friday the thirteenth, ah still glad yuh finally reach, because ah tired. This work scene killing me! Is over a year now I didn’t have to come down in this ugly city five days a week to do this frustrating work. But then a couple weeks ago, mih boss call and said is time to come back down here. Oh mih child, you wouldn’t know how that long drive, twice a day in jam up traffic, wreaking havoc on mih nerves and mih life in general nuh.
It took me ten years to get accustomed to driving downtown in the traffic every single day. But then it only took me a li’l more than a year to unlearn it. And you can imagine how bad it going to be when we come out of all the covid restrictions, and the traffic really start to hit it the road? It going to be real awful.
And to make matters worse, when I tell mih boss about how the downtown drive nerve wracking, yuh know what this boldfaced man look me in mih eye and tell me point blank. ‘I’m sorry my dear, if you can’t do the drive, then get a house closer to your work. And have no fear, if you don’t want the job, I have plenty others who are willing to take it for less pay!’ But imagine my crosses nuh! After I done slave for this imbecile man for so long, he have the nerve and bad manners to tell me such a thing!’
Yes friends, that’s life! As the old people would say, if life doesn’t get you one way, it will get you another. And that’s the gospel truth! This woman apparently didn’t get sick and had it fairly easy during the big covid lockdown, possibly working from home, so she got quite used to the situation. But then, when life struck, as it takes pleasure in doing, and she had to go back out to work, it was a horse of a different colour. Life does us that all the time friends: set you up one way, only to drag you down in another.
And it is our responsibility, ofttimes a difficult one, to not allow it to take us to the cleaners. It means we need to find a constant in our lives; something or someone that that doesn’t play terrible games like life does. And believe me people, the ONE and ONLY constant, unchangeable force in this world is the Lord God Almighty; He of Abraham, Jacob and Isaac! Yes friends, wisdom dictates that we tie ourselves, bind ourselves securely to the ONE and ONLY Living God, through His mighty Son, Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace, the Lord and Saviour of this lost, sinful and evil world!
And why is that you ask? Simple! Because He is the ONLY thing or person in this universe that does not change, and He is also trustworthy, therefore He can be depended on to look after our affairs in accordance with His will. And I know you don’t like that last part about accordance with His will, but we need to remember that Jehovah God is the Creator and Ruler of this universe; in other words, He is the BOSS, and like in the story above, what the Boss says, goes. (smile)
So, now that we have established that most important fact, that God runs things His way, (smile) let’s look at the immutability, the unchanging character of God, and see how it can greatly benefit us. Here are some scriptures from the Good Book, the Lord’s Holy Word, which let us know in no uncertain terms of His forever constant nature. The writer of Hebrews puts it very simply and clearly when He talks of ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.’ (Heb. 13:8)
But if that’s too simple for you, because mankind tends to think that only complicated things are worthwhile, then let’s consider the more complicated terms of Psalm 102. The psalmist confidently declares: ‘Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure (continue): yes, all of them shall wax (grow) old like a garment; as a vesture (cloak) shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.’ (Ps. 102:25-27)
Now does that impact you more forcefully? I certainly hope so, because if you do not engage the Lord God Jehovah, through Jesus Christ, as your stronghold and salvation, then you are in for a very rough ride in this life and then eternal separation from the Creator at the end time. But here are some marvellous verses of scripture that you ought to seriously consider. It comes from the prophet Isaiah.
‘Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint (weak); and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.’ (Is. 40:28-31)
Now that ought to capture you attention! (smile) But seriously friends, not only does the Lord not change, but He also gives power and strength to the weak and weary. And if you’re still not sure, then listen to this wonderful invitation from Jesus nuh. ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ (Matt. 11:28) Now which other supposed god or idol offers that kind of invitation eh? None whatsoever. And even if they did, they could not fulfill it, because it’s only the Living God who has the power to do it!
And there are many other scriptures we can quote about God’s unchangeability, strength and magnanimous character, but time and space prevent us. So, we hope that what we’ve said will hit home to you, and help you to draw closer to Christ, because that’s where your bread is truly buttered. Now, let’s take our problems to God in prayer, another wonderful facet of being under His everlasting yoke of comfort, safety and rest.
As one strong and sincere voice, let’s declare our Friday Chant. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets.
So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways.
And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now, please my brethren, let’s remember, that God’s answer totally depends on the example we set…that is of faithful believers. Much LOVE!
…if you are living under Christ’s all-embracing yoke…you don’t have to worry about a thing…just do as He says…and all will be right with your world…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
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