The Finished Work of Jesus is what allows Believers to Live the Abundant Life!

25 Nov 2024 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2 Timothy 1:7.       ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’

And it’s a fine looking sunshiny Monday morning, but a tad on the chilly side. We’ll take the sunshine anytime though, for its effervescence boosts the spirit, regardless of the temperature, especially on a Monday. (smile) And I sincerely hope that most of us did not allow Monday to disrupt our spirits, but were prepared to meet it and got off to work early and in a peaceful state of mind, although the traffic jams on the way there will possibly cause some frustration and anger. 

But let’s remember that we serve the Prince of Peace, and He was peaceful under all circumstances, and try to be a good example of that. For the traffic jams won’t go away, but if we allow them to upset us to such a level, we might just pass away right there in the middle of it, and that will not be a very welcome or worthwhile situation. 

And I guess it’s not too early…No, it’s never too early to hear the words of Jesus on any subject, especially these two on peace, which we all know, but don’t take the time to action. The first one goes like this: ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27) 

It’s like He said in Matthew about worry. ‘Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for (do not worry about) your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not life more than meat (food), and the body than raiment (clothing) ? (Matt. 6:25) 

Then He goes on to talk about the birds not planting or harvesting, but they eat and survive very well through God’s goodness. Likewise the lilies of the field, who neither toil nor spin, but even Cousin Sol in all his finery could not be prettier than them. So if God looks after the less important aspects of His creation, why won’t He look after the most important one eh? That’s mankind. 

‘Therefore take no thought for (do not worry), saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewith shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles (unbelievers) seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:31-33) 

Yuh see friends, Jesus’ peace is different to what the world offers and with it running through our souls and spirits, there’s no need to be anxious or alarmed about circumstances. And then His next declaration on peace is even more uplifting. He declares: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) 

Now, we all know that’s easier said than done, but again, when we have the spiritual peace of Christ flowing through us, we don’t need to worry as the ordinary unbelievers do, because we know whom we serve, and what power He possesses. Remember, He’s already overcome the world; namely the devil, hell and the grave, so victory is ours, as long as we don’t give it away. 

And these words of Bruh Paul to the church at Rome, serve as a booster to Christ’s statement. He writes: ‘Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience (produces perseverance); and patience, experience (character); and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed (does not disappoint); because the LOVE of God is shed abroad (has been poured out) in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.’ (Rom. 5:1-5)  

Oh my faithful brethren, just look at all the benefits we’ve acquired through the finished work of Jesus nuh! We didn’t do a thing to deserve them, and couldn’t even if we tried our very best. But Jesus did it all for us, and all we have to do is to receive it now by faith, a faith which grows stronger and stronger, the longer we serve Christ, read His Word and be obedient to it, and give thanks and praise for our wonderful blessings, in and through Christ! 

And no, it’s not easy in a world that denies God and thus Christ. But nonetheless, we have been given all the tools to go out into this ungodly world and live like and for Christ, if we don’t fear the possible repercussions. For there will be repercussions if you go against whatever the world and it’s evil system are promoting. But let’s also remember these most reassuring and uplifting words of Bruh Paul to Timothy: ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7) 

So please let’s use the many gifts we’ve been granted to live the life expected of us nuh, otherwise Jesus’ sufferation would have been a waste of time. And we simply cannot allow it to go for nought. Therefore, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn seeking divine aid for our many earthly problems. 

Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

Now, let’s remember that no divine aid will flow down to us unless the Lord sees some humility and sincere repentance on our part! Much LOVE!

…this life is all about Jesus…living for, in and through Him…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   21 June 2023 Psalm 65:12b.

21 Jun 2023 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 65:12b.       …and the little hills rejoice on every side.

Awright mih people, it’s Wednesday, the day we catch our second wind, and this 21 day of June is also the first day of summer! And it’s turned out to be a warm and sunshiny day with only a few clouds hovering overhead to try and intimidate us, as the enemy is constantly doing. But he just can’t accept the fact that he cannot intimidate true believers in Jesus Christ, the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. 

And what gets me about Satan is that he knows Jesus’ power, because he was created by Him, and then defeated by Him in the fight for control of heaven, then again in the tussle over hell, death and the grave, but like a young petulant child, still tries to get his way, when his or her parents are adamantly opposed to it. 

But enough about Satan, let’s turn to our wonderful God, who LOVES us so many that He even sent His One Son, Jesus Christ to die for us so that we could be reconciled back to Him. And we’ll do that by saying this prayer in June’s In Touch Devotional that’s based on Psalm 65. 

Please pray with me: ‘Lord, I know You are good, yet some days I doubt Your provision. Today, let me join my prayer with the psalmist’s and say, You make the sunrise and sunset shout for joy – please fill me with Your unchanging light. You settle the earth’s ridges – likewise, settle me with Your perfect peace. You soften the earth with showers – please soften my heart to receive your truth. You have crowned the year with goodness – help me dwell in the abundance of Your LOVE. Amen.’ 

Oh friends, isn’t that a wonderful prayer? It certainly is! And I like how it asks for the basics, the fundamentals of God’s nature; His light, peace, truth and LOVE! With those things flowing through us, we certainly don’t need anything else to live the abundant life that Christ died for us to have! Glory Be! And it’s only right that we should peruse the words of Bruh David from Psalm 65, verses 8-11, that that prayer was based on. 

But before we get into it, here is some info from the scholars re the purpose of the psalm. ‘The psalm has a simple purpose: to express thanksgiving for rain and harvest, an appropriate subject in an agrarian economy. It is addressed to God in its entirety and presents Him as the God who forgives (vs. 1-4), the God who intervenes in history (vs. 5-8) and the God who provides (vs. 9-13)’ Now that gives us some idea of what the psalm is about, so let’s read verses 8 -11. 

Bruh David wrote: ‘They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens (signs): thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice (shout for joy). Thou visitest (gives attention to) the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn (grain), when thou hast so provided for it. 

Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing (growth) thereof. Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop down fatness (abundance). They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn (grain); they shout for joy, they also sing.’  (Ps. 65:8-13) 

Wow! What a wonderful and mighty God we serve my brethren! Yuh see how He prepares the earth for seed time and harvest, all out of His abundant majesty! And I couldn’t leave out those last two verses, because they too say a lot. (smile) I particularly like how Bruh David says: ‘the little hills rejoice on every side…and both the flock clothed pastures and corn filled valleys shout for joy and sing.’ You couldn’t find better imagery than that. And it’s what we should also be doing as we enjoy His new compassions and mercies every day. 

And it’s all reminiscent of these two passages from Isaiah. The first one where he’s reminding Israel that the Lord has redeemed them, blotted out their transgressions and would return them to their land which would flourish, therefore they ought to repent and return to Him with joy and gladness. It says: ‘Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.’ (Is. 44:23) 

Yes friends, even the very land will rejoice and shout for joy when the Lord renews it with His abundant grace and mercy. And the second verse is like unto the first (smile). It comes from that magnificent chapter 55, which opens with God inviting all who hunger and thirst to come to Him and eat and drink, buy stuff without money, instead of wasting our money on stuff that doesn’t satisfy. 

In that chapter, God also promises an everlasting covenant with the Gentiles, like the one He’s established with Israel, and abundantly pardons those who sincerely seek His face, and where He lets us know that His thoughts and ways are greater than ours, and His word would not return void but do whatever it was sent out to do. 

And as a glorious end to the chapter, he says: ‘For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir (cypress) tree, and instead of the brier (plants with prickly and thorny stems) shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.’ (Is. 55:12-13) 

Oh my people what an important chapter that is, chocked full of all sorts of good things, especially God’s promise of salvation to ALL mankind, and the promise that His word would do exactly what He sends it out to do. We can’t ask for more than that, because it encompasses everything in a nutshell. (smile) 

The kicker in it all though is for us to do our part, because in a covenant relationship both sides have duties and responsibilities to perform, and God has certainly done His part, but unfortunately we haven’t done ours to any worthwhile extent, that’s why we’re still suffering the indignities imposed on us by the enemy. And the ONLY WAY that will ever change is if we repent and return to God, sincerely seek His face and change our evil ways. 

It’s as simple as that my fellow believers. And we all know that, but we’re just so stubborn, arrogant and prideful that we refuse to capitulate to Almighty God, our Creator, Controller and the most powerful Being in the universe! How foolish is that eh? But just remember that there are consequences to every action, for every action, there’s a reaction. And that’s a word to the wise. As Jesus says; ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’ (Matt. 11:15) 

Now, for those of us who are sincerely trying to keep the faith, let’s go home declaring (yesss!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our marvellous position in Christ Jesus. Altogether now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! 

I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And let’s remember that if we endure with Jesus right down to the very end, that that future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine! Much LOVE!

…if we’re in tune with Jesus…then we should be joyful and singing His praises… 

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ       

Today’s Scrip-Bit   13 February 2023 Psalm 78:7.

13 Feb 2023 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 78:7.       That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:

‘Ugh!! Another Monday? But didn’t we just have one last week?’ Yes friends, we surely did, and unfortunately, whether we like it or not, we’re going to have one every week that the world stays afloat. By the way, that intro was from an old edition of the Mutts Comic Strip. And I know that’s the way many of us feel on a Monday morning, but like so many other things in this crazy world, we just have to grin and bear it, get out there with Jesus in our hearts and with His awesome help spurring us on, make a difference for Him. Remember, ‘we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.’ (Phil. 4:13) 

And once we have that written indelibly in our hearts, souls and minds, then things won’t be as difficult, or appear as hopeless as they often do. Now, facing Mondays should also get easier in the northern hemisphere because the sun seems to be rising a tad earlier, so you don’t have to go to work in the dark. And please note that I didn’t say winter would be soon over. (smile) We still have at least another two months to go before we can safely that. And even then it’s not a certainty, because I’ve seen snow in May and June, and with the crazy weather patterns we now have, anything is possible.

But we really can’t complain because it’s not been that cold so far, and we haven’t received as much snow as some other parts of the country, and of the U.S in particular. For some reason they seem to think that because we’re a little further north than some parts of their country that we’re living in the tundra. But the reality is that they are often colder than us, and this year for sure they’ve received much nastier weather than we have. 

And as I was just skimming through the Good Library, looking for a worthwhile scripture to address, I came upon this most important passage, especially for us in these ungodly times, from Psalm 78, a Maschill or Contemplation of Asaph, titled ‘Teach Children God’s Laws.’  So please read with me. ‘Give ear (listen), O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings (riddles) of old: Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.’ (Ps. 78:1-4) 

Yuh see that friends, God has done wonderful works all down through the ages, which our fathers have told us about, which we in turn are supposed to tell the next generation about, so they would not lose the knowledge of God. But unfortunately we have not done as good a job as we ought to in that direction, that’s why this generation is as godless as it is. 

And listen closely as the psalmist Asaph continues: ‘For he (the Lord) established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God.’ (Ps. 78:5-8) 

Now doesn’t that remind you a whole lot of our generation my fellow believers? It certaindoes! The Lord established a covenant with Jacob that fathers would teach their children about God, about His laws and of His great and mighty works on behalf of men. That way the word of God and His praise would be passed down from generation to generation, since they didn’t have as much of the written word as we now do. But even if you have the written word and you’re not directed to it, or taught about it from young, in your parents house, how are you to gravitate to it eh? 

For the main point of the psalm is verse 7: ‘That they (the children) might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.’ And that’s where our generation has seriously fallen down on the job. We’ve turned away from God like Israel did, thus our children know precious little about God, because we have not taught them about God at home, and since God is no longer taught in the schools, how will they know about Him eh? 

The society is becoming more godless every day because that’s what’s been taught in the Educational System. And since our children have no basic foundation in the laws and works of God, they have nothing on which to disprove the new education, even if they desired to. Remember the words of Cousin Sol: ‘Train up a child in the way he should go, and (even) when he is old, he will not depart from it.’ (Prov. 22:6) Now it’s obvious that we haven’t trained up enough of our children in the way they should go; that’s the way of God. So it’s one of the reasons why our society is so lawless and immoral; God is not in so many of our hearts. 

But it’s never too late to turn things around, for with Christ, while there is life there is hope. And as always, the first step in anything we do ought to be prayer. So let’s go to God right now, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn for help to turn our godless society around, for He is the ONLY One who can enable us to do it. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. 

We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

Now it’s up to us to do what we know we need to do, so that God can bless us and our out of control world. Much LOVE!

…if God and His Word had not been passed down to us…how would we know of them eh…  

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ     

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