25 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a journey of hope and love, a saved world, accepting the challenge with a strong faith, advocating, all knees shall bow, all lips declare, almighty god, ascension, Beelzebub, bequeath our children, blessings, cast off forever, compassion, downward spiral, evil, evil powers, examine our ways, exhorting, expectant faith, eyes of faith, faith, fellow believers, forefront of our society, friends, gift, glory, God does not delight in afflicting His people, God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, grateful, grief, heavenly wisdom, honour, hope, hungry hope, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, just and righteous Deity, justified, Lamentations, legacy, lift up our hearts, LOVE, loving kindness, magnanimous Creator, magnificent and magnanimous God, materially, mercies, mire, new day, new every morning, omnipotent god, one true God, only son, pangs of misery, prosper, punishment for sins, put into action, quicksand, raise up the name of jesus, reignite God's image in our hearts, rekindle God's fire in our souls, resurrection, righteous, sacrificial death, Saint of the Little Flower, selfless, sentiments, sinful nature, sinful people, slaves, Son Jesus, spiritually, St. Therese, stooges, sucking away our lifeblood, take us to task, thankful, thanks and praise, the way to salvation, triumphant victory over death and the grave, turn again to God, uncoditional love, ungodly, walk in the steadfastness of god's grace and love, walk of faith, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, wisdom
Lamentations 3:32. But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, glory be! Yes, it’s another new day in paradise! Another marvellous and wondrous gift from our magnanimous Creator!
Oh my people, it just stirs me up so much when I consider the wonderful God we serve and worship!
Wow! Which other supposed deity gives His people new mercies and blessings every single morning eh? Who shows such undeserved compassion each and every day eh? NONE but our omnipotent God, my brethren!
That’s why we ought to give Him enormous thanks and continually praise His Holy Name. Remember, He doesn’t have to do what He’s done and doing for us, neither do our puny efforts deserve His LOVING-kindness. But it’s His unsurpassed unconditional LOVE that causes Him to bless us so richly, in spite of our sinful nature and behaviour.
And please remember too, that while we were yet stooges and slaves of Beelzebub, He sent His ONLY Son Jesus to die for us, so that we could be made justified, righteous, and all the other wonderful things that Jesus’ selfless, sacrificial death, resurrection and ascension accomplished.
So there are indeed numerous reasons for us to be thankful and grateful! Therefore, instead of trying to belittle Jesus’ importance, or take God out of our society, as we are allowing the evil powers that be to do, we ought to be jumping and shouting, beseeching and pleading, picketing and protesting, advocating and exhorting, to raise up the name of Jesus, just like the Father did after His triumphant victory over death and the grave!
We ought to be encouraging ALL knees to bow, and ALL lips to solemnly and sincerely declare that Jesus is indeed the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
Oh Friends, we ought to be filled with such a hungry hope and expectant faith, that we can clearly see, totally envision through our eyes of faith, a saved world; a world where Almighty God and Jesus Christ are once again at the forefront of our society!
Oh my people, my fellow believers, that’s the ONLY WAY our society will once again prosper, both spiritually and materially. If we don’t feel that way, don’t envision it happening, then we’ll just continue the downward spiral in which we’re now totally engaged.
Oh my brethren, the quicksand in the evil and ungodly mire of the world is slowly sucking away our lifeblood, unfortunately causing us to drift further and further away from the ONE TRUE GOD, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and if we don’t soon put a stop to it, then our children, and their children too, will be the ones to suffer the real pangs of misery and defeat, since we’ll already be dead and gone.
Now is that the legacy we want to bequeath to our children, whom most of us LOVE like the Lord LOVES us? I sincerely doubt it.
However Friends, it’s also necessary to remember that though we are currently a very sinful people, and that sometimes the Lord will take us to task for our sins, He will not cast us off forever. (Lam.3:31)
And all God’s people loudly declared: ‘All glory, praise, thanks and honour be to our magnificent and magnanimous God!’
Yes Friends, those are indeed wonderful sentiments, but we need to not only mouth them, but even more importantly put them into action!
And as our Bit so wisely and rightly states: ‘But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.’
Ah mih breddren, it gives our God no joy, no pleasure to punish us, but as a just and righteous Deity, He has to keep things right. Now listen to the words of Jeremiah, as he laments the state of his people Israel, which very much approximates to our current state.
‘For he doth not afflict willingly (with delight), nor grieve the children of men. To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth. To turn aside the right of (justice due) a man before the face of the most High. To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not.
Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil (woe) and good (well being)? Wherefore doth (how then can) a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
Let us search and try (examine) our ways, and turn again to the Lord. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.’ (Lam.3:33-41)
Oh Friends and fellow believers, that bit of scripture both highlights our current situation, and also points the way to our salvation!
Please, let’s accept the challenge with a strong faith, and ask God to ‘reignite His image in our hearts, and rekindle His fire in our souls,’ so that we can turn this evil and ungodly world around, and once again walk in the steadfastness of His abounding grace and undying LOVE!
Now that my people, is truly heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
’…the walk of faith is ultimately…a journey of HOPE and LOVE…’
P.S. Those words in inverted commas above, have been taken from a devotional booklet on healing, based on the writings and actions of St. Therese, the Saint of the Little Flower.
Please, please, my people, let’s use them to truly reignite the flame and fire of God’s LOVE within us nuh, and thus bring some much needed change to our badly drifting and listing world! Much LOVE!
06 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new day, an abomination to the Lord, ask in prayer, awesome Creator, believer's life, believing, communicating with God, creative expression, definition of prayer, diligently follow, distress, don't be afraid to pray, don't ever doubt, don't hesitate to call on God, enriched lives, faithfully, fig tree, forgiveness, give ear to my words, God has heard me, God is ready willing and able, God's delight, God's promises, God-given wisdom, gospel truth, grateful children, groaning, Hartley Coolidge, have mercy upon me, hear my prayer, heartfelt thanks and praise, heartfelt words, heavenly truth, I will direct my prayer, I will look up, if you have faith, in Jesus' name, in the morning, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, joy, life's forces, Lord and Saviour, Lord God of heaven, LOVE, loving kindness, man of God, meditation, mercy, my god, my King, omni-present, omnipotent, omniscient, peace, personal satisfaction, plead, praise and bless, praise and thanks, pray, pray with hope, prayer, prayer of the upright, prayer of trust, recociliation, reconciled to God, righteousness., sacrifice, sacrifice of the wicked, simple, sincere prayers, sinful nature, sinless life, spiritual needs, straightforward, testimony to god's faithfulness, to pray is right, voice of my cry, voice of my prayer, words of truth, you shall receive
Psalm 66:19. But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Oh Friends, it’s a new day! Wow! One filled with joy and LOVE, peace, mercy, forgiveness, grace and all the other wonderful things that our omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present God is famous for! So let’s give Him some warm, heartfelt thanks and praise this Sunday morning nuh, both here and in His sanctuary.
Please pray with me: ‘Lord God of heaven and earth, this Sunday morning Your grateful children praise and bless You for allowing us to see another fabulous day filled with Your LOVING-kindness!
We give you plenty, plenty thanks for it all… especially for Jesus Christ, our BELOVED Lord and Saviour, who sacrificed His sinless life so that we could be reconciled to You! Please accept this, our sacrifice of praise and thanks!
You know deep down that we LOVE You, it’s just that sometimes our sinful nature gets in the way. Please help us to overcome it, so that we can walk in perfect righteousness with You. This we pray, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.’
Yeh mih people, prayer is certainly a wonderful thing!
Consequently, let me remind us of this quote by Hartley Coolidge, which I think I’ve shared before, but is important enough for us to hear again, since most things don’t filter into our souls until we hear them over and over again.
And Hartley says: ‘Be not afraid to pray, to pray is right. Pray, if thou canst with hope, but even pray.’
And that my fellow believers we all know is heavenly truth, but unfortunately, too often we neglect to put it into action and thus prevent ourselves from communicating more fully with Almighty God.
Now here is a definition of prayer, taken from the One More Day Devotional. ‘Prayer is a creative expression of my spiritual needs. It offers me a deep sense of personal satisfaction and continually reminds me of all life’s forces.’
Now that’s how prayer should affect us, my brethren – fulfilling our spiritual needs and bringing us even closer to our awesome Creator!
And all of that build up finally brings us to our Bit: ‘But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.’
Ah mih people, prayer is so important in a believer’s life that every great man of God has enshrined it their lives!
So let’s look at some scripture from some of these godly men that highlight prayer. And with my known bias towards Bruh David (smile) we’ll begin with some of his heartfelt words.
In Psalm 4; an evening prayer of trust in God, he soulfully implores his Maker: ‘Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged (relieved) me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me (be gracious unto me), and hear my prayer.’ (Ps.4:1)
Then in Psalm 5; a prayer for protection, he sincerely pleads: ‘Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my meditation (groaning). Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.’ (Ps.5:1-3)
Oh Friends, you can’t get any clearer or plead more sincerely than that!
Meanwhile Cousin Sol in his God-given wisdom, solidly maintains: ‘The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.’ (Prov.15:3)
And that’s gospel truth my brethren! Our wonderful God takes great delight in hearing the prayers of His servants! Please never forget that! Whatever the problem, Jehovah God is always there ready, willing and able to respond to our sincere prayers and answer them.
That’s one of His many promises, and we know that He keeps them all faithfully. So don’t ever doubt, or hesitate to call on Him, because that’s what He is there for, and it’s also what He greatly desires of us.
And we’ll end, as we like to do, whenever possible, with the best advice from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He spoke these faithful words after withering up the unfruitful fig tree.
‘And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain; Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’ (Matt.21:20-22)
Awright mih breddren, awright! Words of truth from our Saviour Himself!
And as always, they are simple and straightforward, so there’s nothing left for me to say, but to plead with us to accept them and diligently follow them, so that our lives will be even more enriched with God’s LOVING-kindness! Much LOVE!
…believe…and ask IN PRAYER…and you shall receive…
P.S. Sorry for the Bit being late Friends, but I’ve been trying to stave off a cold for the last few days, but it stubbornly refused to be staved off (smile) It hit me like a ton of bricks yesterday and reduced my efficiency. But as you can see, though it might make the Bit late, it certainly won’t stop it! And that’s much more a testimony to our heavenly Father’s faithfulness than to my doggedness! Much LOVE!
30 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abraham Mazlow, abundant sins, Adam and Eve, Advocate, all have sinned, almighty god, beautiful, Beelzebub, believers, box office draw, Bruh Paul, buck up, carried away captive, Christians, Christians should not sin, come short of God's glory, come to their senses, confess sins, dealt wickedly, death, despicable, destroy the natural process, disobedient, divine authority, does good, done amiss, escape serious injury, eternal death, eternal life, exercising our own wills, face to face with death, faith, fellowship, fellowship with God, forbidden fruit, forgive, Garden of Eden, God's house, God's purpose, gospel truth, grim reaper, hideous results, impulse to live, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, land of their captivity, life is wonderful, life threatening accident, LOVE, mortal lives, mortality, negatives in our world, not a just man on earth, overwhelmed, pray, precious, promise ourselves, rampant, relationship with god, repent, righteous, Sabbath, sacred, Scrip-Bit family, share our faith, sin, sin of commission, sin of omission, sinful nature, sins not, sown in our souls, standing steadfast and strong, start enjoying life, stupidity, supplications, technological society, the seeds of sin, trespassing, ultimate in wisdom, virtually impossible, wandering sheep, wily deceiver
Ecclesiastes 7:20. For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
So how is the Scrip-Bit family this Sunday morning eh? I hope we’re all standing strong and steadfast in faith, and giving God all the glory, as we should.
And as always, we expect those who celebrate the Sabbath on a Sunday are going to get to God’s house, at sometime today, to fellowship with other believers. That’s one of the best ways to share our faith and keep it strong.
Now I want to share an interesting quote from one Abraham Mazlow (1908-1970), an American psychologist, considered the Father of Modern Management Psychology. He states: ‘This confrontation with death… makes everything look so precious, so sacred, so beautiful, that I felt more strongly than ever the impulse to live it, and to let myself be overwhelmed by it.’
Wow! How true that is my Friends! For I’m sure you’ve noticed that whenever we become really sick, unto possible death, or have been in a life threatening accident, or narrowly escape serious injury from whatever circumstances, how we suddenly become very concerned about our lives?
And it doesn’t even have to be us who has the close call with the grim reaper, but just someone we know, and it forces us to consider our own mortality. Then we suddenly wake up and realize how wonderful life is, and begin to, or promise ourselves to enjoy it more fully.
Ah mih people, why wait till we come face to face with death before we truly appreciate life eh? Life is indeed beautiful, and despite the many negatives in our world, none of us really want to go over to the other side just yet. (smile)
So regardless of our circumstances, let us buck up and start enjoying this mortal life today nuh! This life that Almighty God has so generously breathed into our bodies. That was His original purpose for doing so yuh know. And if we don’t enjoy and appreciate it, means we’re being disobedient to His wish.
Now here is another interesting proposition, namely our Bit: ‘For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.’
And that, most of us realize is indeed gospel truth! Our sinful nature began when our forefathers Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, against God’s very specific command not to do so. Hn!
And since then, that sinful nature has just become more sinful and despicable with each passing day. Until now, in this wealthy, modern technological society, sin is the number one box office draw, being totally rampant in its many forms and fashions.
And though some of us might try to do good, try to be righteous, unfortunately the seeds of sin have been so deeply sown in our souls, and have sprouted up in so many different ways to make that virtually impossible. No wonder Bruh Paul could write to the Romans: ‘For all have sinned, and come (fall) short of the glory of God.’ (Rom.3:23)
And to help us understand that, here are some thoughts from the scholars. ‘3:23. A personal sin may be one of commission (doing something that is prohibited) or a sin of omission (failing to do what is required of us). It may also express itself in either an act or attitude.
Illustration: Sin is portrayed in Scripture as falling short of God’s glory (v.23), going astray like a wandering sheep (Is.53:6), transgressing or overstepping the law (Ps.51:1; Luke 15:29), and trespassing, which means exercising our own wills in the realm of divine authority (Eph.2:10).
Sin brings hideous results, affecting not only our relationship with God, but also our relationship with others. If not checked, sin will destroy the natural process of every person.
Application: Christians should not sin, but if they do, they should remember their Advocate (Jesus Christ), and confess their sins in order to restore fellowship with God (1 John 1:9-2:2). (First Ref. Gen.3:6; Primary Ref. Rom 3; cf. Ps. 51:5).’
Yes Friends, I surely hope that gives us a better appreciation of what sin is, and what it can do. Please check out those reference verses too. If we’re not careful, sin can, and will totally destroy us, as well as those associated with us.
That’s why we keep stressing not to let the ole crook, the wily deceiver Beelzebub to get even a fingernail hold in our lives. We have enough sinful nature already, no need to encourage him and make it even worse.
And we’ll close with some verses from Cousin Sol’s prayer when he dedicated the temple. ‘If they, (Israel) sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;
Yet if they bethink themselves (come to their senses) in the land whither they are carried away captive, and turn and pray unto thee (repent) in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;
If they return to thee with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name:
Then hear thou them from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee.’ (2 Chr. 6:36-39) That speech can also be found in 1 Kings 8:46-50, with a few variations.
However my people, in this oh so sinful world of ours, what we desperately need to do is what Cousin Sol advised; sincerely repent and turn back to Jehovah God so that He can forgive us of our abundant sins. That Friends, is the ultimate in wisdom! Much LOVE!
…so what’s it going to be eh…forgiveness and eternal life…or stupidity and eternal death…
05 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Ash Wednesday, beat up ourselves, bewail our misery, by faith, come of age, compromise our godly beliefs, corroded silver and gold, deceitful, demons, displeasure, divine blessings, ears of the Lord of hosts, eat your flesh, Egypt, enjoying life, eschew pleasure, face the problem squarely, faith, fattened hearts, fire, for a season, forgiven, forgiveness, forgotten, foundational faith, fraud, generous, graceful aplomb, gratifying, grounding belief, haunt us all our lives, he that loves pleasure, he that loves wine and oil, hearsay, indulgence, indulgent, jehovah god, Jesus fasted, Lent, less than stellar perfomance, LOVETH, Lucifer, Lucifer tempted Jesus, luxurious living, man-made idol, merciful, Moses, moth-eaten garments, partying, passing pleasures, personal experience, physically alive, pleasure, pleasure centres, poor, pull up our breeches, pursuit of fleeting pleasure, reap displeasure, recompense, reproach of Christ, reward, rich, rotted riches, sanctity, satisfying, serve only Him, serve pleasure, sin, sincere repentance, sinful nature, sinful pleasures, sinful world, son of Pharaoh's daughter, spiritually dead, stand our bounce, suffer affliction, take responsibility, temptations, the last days, treasure, true reflection, truth, ultimate in wisdom, wanton, warning, well deserved break, witness, worship the Lord thy God, worth
Proverbs 21:17. He that LOVETH pleasure shall be a poor man: he that LOVETH wine and oil shall not be rich
ASH WEDNESDAY !
Well Friends, the partying done now! Yes, it’s Ash Wednesday morning, the first day of Lent, so I hope that you exercised and exorcised all your pleasure demons over the last few days of serious partying. (smile) That’s because now is a time to settle down, a time for serious reflection on our relationships, especially between God and us.
Lent is the time to look deep into our souls and examine what we truly believe, and consequently how we live our lives, based on our grounding belief, our foundational faith, for all of us have faith in something, hopefully Jehovah God, and not man or some man-made idol.
Anyway, this season of Lent is a serious time, and we ought to seriously consider how we live our lives, giving the pleasure centres of our bodies and souls a well-deserved break. Hn, hn!
Now that doesn’t mean we ought to stop enjoying life, or eschew all pleasure, but rather not let the pleasures of life be all that important. Instead, let’s contemplate on how Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness and how Lucifer tempted Him, tried his very best to get Him to go against God’s will.
And in light of that, let’s see what temptations have been coming against us, and how we’ve been handling them, hopefully with graceful aplomb like Jesus, telling the deceitful fool Lucifer: ‘Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.’ (Matt.4:10)
And we all know my brethren, that that’s truth of the highest order! But that doesn’t stop the ole scoundrel from continually snapping at our heels, especially in one soft and weak area of our sinful nature, that of pleasure.
That’s why Cousin Sol declared so profoundly unto us, the words of our Bit. ‘He that LOVETH pleasure shall be a poor man: he that LOVETH wine and oil shall not be rich.’
And unfortunately, I know that Lucifer has a wide grin on his evil, devilish face this Ash Wednesday morning, because over the last few days, he’s managed to get many of us to compromise our godly beliefs in the pursuit of fleeting worldly pleasure.
But please remember that ALL of it can be forgiven, though only some forgotten, and a lot of it will haunt us for the remainder of our lives. There will always be some reminder of our less than stellar performance during that period.
The important thing though is not to beat up ourselves and continually bewail our misery over it, since that portion of our lives cannot be relived, and our mistake(s) be undone. And this wisdom comes from personal experience, not hearsay. We need to come to God in sincere repentance, ask for His merciful and generous forgiveness, then face the problem squarely; stand our bounce.
That’s one thing I’ve always tried to drive into my children’s head from they were young, and try to practice it myself. If you’ve done something wrong, be man or woman enough to take the responsibility for it.
And after all that ‘sermonizing’, (smile) let’s look at some scriptures that uphold the truth of our Bit. And we’ll begin with some instructive words of Bruh Paul to Timothy, re widows. ‘But she that liveth in pleasure (indulgence) is dead while she liveth.’ (1 Tim.5:6)
And the scholars’ note says: ‘5:6. This may be paraphrased, “But the widow who indulges in luxurious living, though physically alive, is spiritually dead.”
And I just want to point out here my people, that that statement also applies to widowers, in fact to all and sundry, because once we’ve allowed earthly indulgences to control our lives, we do become spiritually dead.
Then in Hebrews 11, that great chapter on faith, in talking about Moses, the author proclaims: ‘By faith, Moses, when he was come to years (came of age), refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures (passing pleasures) of sin for a season;
Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasure in Egypt: for he had respect unto (looked at) the recompense of the reward.’ (Heb.11:24-26)
Yes my brethren, likewise, we are to shun the calling of the pleasures of sin, and esteem the reproach of Christ of greater sanctity and worth than that of the world.
And we’ll let James take us home with his very voluble and valuable warning to the rich. ‘Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted (have rotted), and your garments are moth-eaten.
Your gold and silver is cankered (corroded): and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for (in) the last days.
Behold, the hire (wages) of the labourers who have reaped (mowed) down your fields, which is of you (you kept back) by fraud, crieth (cry out): and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth (Hosts).
Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton (indulgent); ye have nourished (fattened) your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.’ (James 5:1-6)
Yeh Friends, that’s the way it goes! All our riches, garnered on the backs of those unfairly treated will eventually rot and be of no use to us. We who have lived to serve pleasure, will in the end reap displeasure!
So please, as true believers, let’s wake up and see unrestrained pleasure for what it really is nuh – an unwise and foolish means of moving away from Jehovah God to the sinful camp of Beelzebub.
Now is that what we really and truly want to do? I sincerely doubt it. So please, let’s pull up our ‘britches’ (breeches) nuh, and stop allowing the sinful pleasures of our sinful world to control our lives. Now that’s the ultimate in wisdom! Much LOVE!
…Cousin Sol had it all…wisdom, wealth and time…but found no satisfying, gratifying, or long lasting pleasure…in the worldly pleasures his divine blessings afforded him…
10 Jan 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a life of Love, agape, anger, Beelzebub, bounden duty, careening, Christ's followers, commandments, culture, devilish path, diligent efforts of Love, dissipation, dominating, earthly pilgrimage, eternal darkness, eternity, evil powers, fellowship, first heartbeat, foolish pride, forgive, Friday chant, fulfilling of the law, fun, generous help, glorious kingdom, godlessness, godly sentiments, godly wisdom, gospel truth, greatest feelings, human weakness, importance of Love, Jesus Christ, jesus name, Job, lawlessness, leggo-beast, life-saving opportunity, LOVE, Love does no harm, Love God, Love shines brighter, Love shines brighter every day, Love your neighbour as yourself, lower standards, negative and evil things, party time, perspective, Pharisees, positive and godly things, rebellion, reconciled to God, reggase song, rejuvenation of spirit, renewal, revolution of Love, right perspective, separation, sinful nature, spread LOVE, strife, Thank God is Friday, the children's sake, the essence of God, the morning sun, the necessity for Love, the weekend, too far for comfort, unbelievers, unfathomable reason, unwise, wisdom
Romans 13:10. LOVE worketh no ill (does no harm) to his neighbour: therefore LOVE is the fulfilling of the law.
Hello there mih people, it’s Friday… And the raucous shouting begins: ‘Oh Lord, oh Lord, the weekend’s here! Work soon finish, then is time to behave like leggo beast! Oh Lord, oh Lord, it’s Friday… party time! Thank the Lord is Friday yes!’ (smile)
But Friends, you better believe that there are a lot of us out there with that mentality, that the weekend’s the time to go crazy. However, that’s a sad fallacy.
Granted, you do deserve to let down your hair some, after a long and hard week’s work, but definitely not to behave like leggo beast and put a big, broad grin on Beelzebub’s evil face. It’s supposed to be more a time of renewal than dissipation.
And to help us use the weekend the right way, let’s chant our Friday Chant as one loud, harmonious, groovy chorus. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Now that’s how we should approach the weekend my brethren, not with the earlier carryings on! It’s all about perspective people; about having the right perspective to this earthly pilgrimage.
And what better perspective to life is there than the godly sentiments contained in our Bit? ‘LOVE worketh no ill (does no harm) to his neighbour: therefore LOVE is the fulfilling of the law.’ None whatsoever!
Oh my fellow believers, we’re talking about LOVE, the essence of the omnipotent God Jehovah, Creator and Controller of the universe!
LOVE was the emotion that drove Him to save us from our sinful selves, thus giving us the wonderful, life-saving opportunity to be reconciled to Him, and not spend eternity in eternal darkness and separation.
In light of all that, what could be a better perspective to living, than a life of LOVE eh? Nothing really my brethren!
As the old reggae song by Culture states: ‘It was LOVE that caused our first heartbeat.’ Gospel truth indeed!
And Culture also declares that ‘LOVE shines brighter than the morning sun.’ And it sure does Friends, if we allow it to.
That’s why Jesus kept reiterating the importance of and the necessity for LOVE in our lives. When asked by the ole hypocrite Pharisees about the greatest commandment, what was His reply eh?
‘Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matt.22:37-40)
Now why would Jesus expand and expatiate (smile) on the importance of LOVE, if it wasn’t a big deal eh?
But for some unfathomable reason, be it foolish pride, persistent rebellion, or our basic sinful nature, we seem to find it very difficult to LOVE; to show it, to put it into action. And that deficiency covers the whole spectrum; from God, right back to ourselves and our neighbours.
However my brethren, without that ‘agape’ LOVE, the spiritual kindness, consideration and decency towards, God, ourselves and each other, our world will only keep sinking into a dreary and murky mire of lawlessness, Godlessness, anger and strife.
In fact, we’ve already gone too far for comfort, down that unwise, devilish path. And the only thing that can bring us back is a serious revolution of LOVE, engendered by Christ’s followers!
Yes my fellow believers, it’s only through our combined and diligent efforts of LOVE that our world will ever be turned around!
Aren’t you tired of seeing our beautiful world constantly careening to lower and lower levels and standards, where the negative and evil things in life are dominating the positive and godly things? I surely am!
So please help me fix it nuh! It’s our job, our bounden duty! And if we don’t fix it, who will eh? Surely not the unbelievers and evil powers that be!
So Friends, in Jesus’ Name, today I’m asking us to all come together, as ONE, as the church, the body of Christ, and spread LOVE all around the world! Because as Culture also says: ‘LOVE shines brighter every day.’ That’s provided we allow it to.
So if we truly LOVE Jesus, then let’s allow the LOVE that’s buried deep in our hearts and souls to shine brighter today, and each and every day hence; for our world, and our children’s sake That’s godly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…oh, to LOVE…and be LOVED…are the greatest feelings in the world…
P.S. Sorry the Bit’s a tad late, but the ole body just couldn’t get up very early this morning. Please show some LOVE, and forgive my human weakness. (smile) Much LOVE!
28 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abraham, Adam, almighty god, antidote, Boxing Day, calamitious state, celebrations, Christian music, Christmas, circumcision, consideration, covenant, destroy, disastrous mess, disobedience, doer, evil, exalted, foreskin, generation, God's Word, good, Holy Trinity, house of god, ice, inspiration, Isaiah, Israelites, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, joyous spirit, judge, king, Law, lawgiver, LOVE, Love the Lord, love thy neighbour, Lucifer, mind games, mountain of the Lord, negativity, ploughshares, Promised Land, pruninghooks, rebellious, rebuke, reproach, restore, righteousness., salvation, saviour, scriptures, sinful nature, snow, spears, spiritual armour, swords, Ten Commandments, the day of the Lord, the last days, tree of knowledge, unfavourable weather, uplift, wake up call, war, word of the Lord
Isaiah 33:22. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he shall save us.
Ah Friends, it’s Saturday and the ole fella is tired. I don’t know why, because I didn’t do much over the Christmas and Boxing Day celebrations. I didn’t over eat or over drink. In fact I rested quite a lot; perhaps too much. (smile). Where was I to go though, with all the ice and snow and unfavourable weather?
I guess the tricky Lucifer must be playing some mind games with me. But I have the perfect antidote for that, my spiritual armour. Yes my people, I’m going to put it on right now, and I know that as soon as I do, then begin writing about God’s Word, His joyous Spirit will pick me up and restore a bright and sparkling outlook to my weary spirit. Yes Friends, one of the great things our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ does for us is to uplift and restore our tired and sagging spirits.
And contrary to my hope yesterday, I didn’t finish sharing all the scripture on the ‘lawgiver’ aspect of our Bit, so today we’ll forgo a lot of preamble and get right to it. ‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he shall save us.’
And I’m chuckling here Friends, because I’m listening to the radio while writing, which I don’t usually do because it tends to distract me. But for some reason I tuned into Radio Trinidad, 730 AM, where they’re playing some nice Christian music and the writing just seemed to flow. So who am I to deny God’s inspiration eh? (smile)
Anyway, turning to the ‘lawgiver’ aspect of our Bit, let’s continue with some appropriate scriptures. Isaiah, that faithful and much inspired prophet, boldly proclaims, re the day of the Lord: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
And many people shall go and say, come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruninghooks (pruning knives): nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.’ (Is.2:2-4)
Oh, what a beautiful day that will be, my brethren! But long before that the Lord was handing down laws to His chosen creation. The first basic law was given to our forefather Adam. ‘And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest eat freely: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.’ (Gen.2:16-17)
But as we all know, Adam didn’t obey, and thus we’ve all been possessed of a sinful, rebellious nature since then. Then the Lord made circumcision the law for those of Abraham’s lineage, who wanted to covenant with him. ‘This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child (male) among you shall be circumcised.
And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token (sign) of the covenant betwixt me and thou. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.’ (Gen.17:10-12)
And we can’t talk about laws without talking about the Big Ten, the Lord gave to the Israelites on leaving Egypt bound for the Promised Land, (Ex.20: 1-17) with the biggest being the first: ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’ (Ex.20:3)
Unfortunately though, neither the Israelites, nor many of us who came after them, have sufficiently heeded those Ten Commandments. And that foolish action, that disobedience sadly bears a direct link to why our world is in such a calamitous state today. And if you don’t believe me, then read those Ten Commandments and take out all the negativity that disobeying each one brings to our world, and see how beautiful the remnant is!
Now let’s turn to Isaiah again with some more interesting words from our Maker. ‘Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.’ (Is.51:7-8)
Then Jesus came and broke it all down to just two laws. ‘Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matt.22:37-40)
But you think we could even keep those two? Obviously not! Therefore we’re surrounded by a negativity filled world!
And we’ll end with some provocative words from James on that last commandment; consideration for a brother. ‘Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?’ (James 4:11-12)
And that Friends, say it all! Until we stop judging and truly start LOVING, our lives and our world will continue to be one, big, disastrous mess. Let this be a wake up call for us nuh. Much LOVE!
…there is only ONE Lawgiver…ONE Judge…ONE King…ONE able to save us…Almighty God…the Holy Trinity…
05 Sep 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, anger, appreciation, blessings, bondage in Egypt, bottomless morass, catastrophic history, christianity, compacent, covenant, deprivation, fat, finest wheat, first commandment, followers of Jesus, foolish pride, forgiveness, forgot who brought us to the dance, gilty of the same crime, gladness, god, God's dictates, God's goodness, gospel truth, greed, honey, house of bondage, I am the Lord, idolatry, In Touch, insular worlds, Israel's waywardness, Israelites, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, joy, lazy, let us rejoice and be glad, live as though everything matters, lives of excellence, lives of significance, LOVE, loving kindness, lust of their hearts, make a positive difference, mournful lament, my people would not listen, negative results, new mercies, no other gods before me, omnipotent god, one true God, pangs of want, peace, picture of your soul, prosperity, prosperous society, protective umbrella, psalmist asaph, rebellious, refuse to walk in covenant with God, religion, rumours of war, showing LOVE, sin, sincere repentance, sinful nature, stop focusing on ourselves, stubborn people, subdued their enemies, the day of the Lord, too big for their britches, topsy turvy world, tough times, true disciples of Jesus, true discipleship, true reflections, ungodliness, uniform authority, walked in their own counsel, walling in the mire, wars, wickedness, wisdom, worship strange gods, Yahweh
Psalm 81:9. There shall no strange (foreign) god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.
Oh Friends, another new morn is here with new blessings, mercies and forgiveness! Wow! Are we ready to receive this new day and all the positive things it brings with joy, gladness and humble appreciation? I certainly hope so, because if we’re not, then we’ll lose out on the best stuff that Almighty God has to offer.
And all God’s children joyfully declared: This is the day the Lord has made, WE WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!’
Yes mih people, that’s the way I like to hear us shout out loud and proud in the name of Jehovah God! It’s the only way to go, otherwise we’re showing ourselves unappreciative of His wonderful blessings, mercies and forgiveness.
Now, while going through some papers here just now, I came upon this little note I’d taken from an article of the June issue of In Touch Magazine. It’s simple, but it says a whole lot. ‘The way you live your life everyday is a picture of your soul.’
Now that sounds like gospel truth to me! Why? Because we generally live our lives the same way everyday, and thus they are true reflections of how we feel, think and behave.
And to expand on that, I’m saying that we should therefore live everyday of our lives as though everything matters. We should try to make a difference, a positive one that is, and stop focusing on ourselves, and our little, insular worlds.
As believers we ought to live lives of excellence, lives of significance that impact positively in, and on the lives of others. Then and only then, will we be showing the LOVE and true discipleship that Jesus desires of His followers.
Now here’s our Bit: ‘There shall no strange (foreign) god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.’
Oh Friends, that verse comes from Psalm 81, where the psalmist Asaph is writing of God’s goodness and the Israelites waywardness. But in fact it’s the very first commandment the Lord gave His people when He brought them out of bondage in Egypt way back in time.
‘And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’ (Ex.20:1-3)
Oh my brethren, those words are self-explanatory, simple and to the point, as are most of the words of our great God! That meant the Israelites were entering into an exclusive covenant with Yahweh, the One, True God.
But as we all know, they were a rebellious and stubborn people and did not keep the covenant for very long. In fact they reneged on it several times during their long, stormy and catastrophic history.
This led the psalmist to write of God. ‘But my people would not hearken (heed, listen) to my voice; and Israel would (have) none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts lust (stubbornness): and they walked in their own counsels.’ (Ps.81:11-12)
Ah Friends, there’s a direct connection and relationship between the Israelites turning away from God, and our present behaviour, for we are doing the very same thing. We’re refusing to walk in covenant with God, and instead are taking Him out of lives; schools, public places and even homes, as quickly as we can.
And like the Israelites, the Lord has allowed us to walk in our own counsel. Hence the negative results, just like it befell the Israelites, EVERY TIME they turned away from the God of their forefathers.
I don’t have to paint a picture for you of the wars and rumours of war, of the strife, greed, anger foolish pride and idolatry that’s engulfing, no sorry, that’s already engulfed our ungodly world. And it’s getting worse everyday my friends. Everyday we’re sinking ever deeper into the bottomless morass of sin and ungodliness.
That brings to mind the psalmist’s writing, re God’s response. ‘Oh that my people had hearkened unto (listened to) me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their enemies…. He should (would) have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should (would) I have satisfied them.’ (Ps.81:13-14,16)
Oh my people, our wonderful God is mouthing the same mournful lament today, as He sadly sees us wallowing in the mire of wickedness as put forward by Lucifer. But He’s also willing and able to help us. However, we need to first turn back to him in sincere repentance and start living obedient to His dictates.
The Israelites belatedly realized this, but they were smart enough to turn back to Yahweh when it finally dawned on them. And in accordance with His covenant their society prospered. But again, that holding on to the covenant only lasted as long as it took for them to become prosperous, and they then forgot who made them so.
We’re guilty of the same stupid crime today my people. Some years ago, when times were really tough, a majority of society worshipped the Lord God Jehovah, and eventually the land prospered. But then, as is our sinful nature, we got fat, lazy and complacent and forgot who brought us to the dance.
We began believing that it was our own hands that had brought us the prosperity. So the Lord left us to our own foolish ways. Now every thing is falling down, coming apart at the seams, because there’s no single, uniform authority, namely Almighty God, to hold it together.
Oh Friends, when are we going to learn that our omnipotent God controls the entire universe and all that happens in it eh?
Listen to what He said long ago through the prophet Isaiah. ‘I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour. I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed (proclaimed), when there was no strange (foreign) god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. Yes, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let (reverse) it?’ (Is.43:11-13)
Yes mih breddren, the Lord’s omnipotence rules over His universe, and just like the Israelites, we are witnesses to it, especially with the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
We’ve seen what Jehovah can do, so why are we so foolishly turning away from Him only to suffer the pangs of want and deprivation, when we could be comfortably enjoying peace and prosperity under the protective umbrella of His LOVING-kindness?
It makes no sense Friends, especially when history has a whole lot of societies buried in His dust, when they got too big for their ‘britches.’
So let’s be wise nuh mih breddren, and start turning back to Almighty God. That’s provided we want to see our topsy-turvy, troubled world stable and prosperous again. Now that’s certainly wisdom of the highest order! Much LOVE!
… what is history eh….history provides a record of the past…to light the way of the future…but this foolish generation refuses to see the light of the future…Jesus…
19 Aug 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abased, achievements, aura of love, battle hymn, benefits, confidence, conquerors, conscious decision, contrition, corrupt sinner, enemy's wicked taunts, enthusiasm, eternal wisdom, evil practices, evil world, exalted, false exaltation, fantastic job, fight a good fight, foolsih pride, glorious kingdom, God of second chances, God's realm, godless world, haughty heights, help of the Holy Spirit, humble, humble servants, humble spirit, immorality, important principles, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, justified, lazy, lies, lost souls, LOVE, mercy, Monday, necessities of war, new workweek, physical attributes, power, procrastinate, rejuvenation of spirit, religion, renewed vitality, repentance, responsibility, salvation, serious determination, sinful nature, social status, spiritual armour, spirituality, steadfast faith, straddle the fence, the things of God, theology, true believers, ungodliness, ungodly world, useful purpose, value, weary souls, wickedness, wiles
Luke 18:14. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday once again, time to get ready for a new week of work! And though by nature, mankind is lazy and likes to procrastinate, as believers in Jesus Christ, we have the responsibility to get up and get things done in His name.
That’s why on Mondays we shouldn’t be miserable and complain about having to go to work, but be happy that we have the opportunity to get out and fight a good fight for Jesus; a fight that will consequently have lost souls falling at His feet in repentance, seeking mercy and salvation.
Now let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, in full voice, with purposed hearts, to energize our selves and get us ready to face the wicked and godless world that awaits us.
All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
That certainly was a most hearty rendition my people! All heaven was pleased. Now let’s check out our Bit. ‘I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.’
Yes my brethren, today we’re again going to look at two major problems in our society, foolish pride and false exaltation. Now the world places great emphasis on our physical attributes, achievements, power and social status, but Jesus teaches the greater benefits to be had from the virtue of humility. That’s because a humble spirit is one of the most important principles in God’s realm. We cannot come before Him without a humble and contrite spirit.
Note what Jesus said about the Pharisee and the publican in our Bit. The former, who exhibited a proud and arrogant spirit, would be abased, cast down from his haughty heights, while the latter with a genuinely humble heart, though a corrupt sinner, would be exalted, simply because of his contrition.
Ah mih people, it’s the very same lesson that Jesus taught in the parable of the wedding feast. (Luke 14:7-14) There He tells us that when we’re invited to a function with no specific seating arrangements, don’t run up to the front, or the place that is the most visible, where you can be seen by everyone and have them think that you’re so important.
But rather, stay in the background, find a seat that’s not so visible, so that when the host or hostess comes and sees you sitting in that lowly position, they will move you up, exalt you to a higher position and chase one of those self-important, social status seekers, who had proudly vaulted himself, down to your position. ‘For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased (humbled); and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.’ (Luke 14:11) And Jesus says the same thing again when He denounces the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23:12.
Oh my brethren, how many times does Jesus have to repeat that all important principle for us to accept it and actually put it into practice eh? Remember we can’t be straddling the fence, having one foot in the ungodly world and one in the divine realm. It has to be both feet in one or the other.
Yes, we do have to be IN the world to see and know what’s happening and help to make it right, but we cannot be OF the world, advancing its immorality, ungodliness and evil practices. And with our sinful human nature, that’s not always easy to do, but with a conscious decision, serious determination, the help of the Holy Spirit and our continued concentration on the things of God, we can do a fantastic job.
And we have time and space for one scripture that also reminds us of the immeasurable value of humility in God’s arena. It comes from Job, when his good buddy Eliphaz was lambasting him for his supposed sins. And though Eliphaz was on the wrong track in particular with Job, in general, he had the right idea, as he tells him. ‘When men are cast down, then shalt thou say, There is lifting up (exaltation); and he shall save the humble person.’ (Job 22:29)
Now Friends, that’s eternal wisdom, for wherever and whenever men are abased for their proud, haughty behaviour, they can yet be exalted by our merciful God of second chances with the proper contrition. So please let’s embrace it and go out and fight a good fight in Jesus’ name today, well suited up in our spiritual armour plus all the other necessities of war. Much LOVE!
…if we truly LOVE Jesus…then we’ll do our very best to fulfill His desires…
18 Jun 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a closer walk, an example, beloved son, better late than never, blessed Jesus, church at Corinth, destiny, destruction, dishonour, earthly things, empowerment, emulate, enemies of the cross of Christ, eternal destruction, evil age, faithful Christians, fellowship, glory, gluttony, God is their belly, good works, hedonistic lifestyle, imitator, incorruptibility, indelibly written, infamy, integrity, licentiousness, old hymn, press on diligently, reverence, sexual immorality, shame, sincere leadership, sinful nature, Spirit of God, steadfast, straight and narrow path, the right tools, unbridled lusts, walk closely with God, walking faithfully in God's Spirit, wholesome advice
Philippians 3:17: Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an example.
‘Just a closer walk with thee. Blessed Jesus let it be. Always walking close to thee. Let it be, dear Lord… let it be.’
Oh Friends, those words from that favourite old hymn are very significant in a believer’s life; so significant that they should be written indelibly in our hearts and be constantly on our lips!
Yes my brethren, if we’re to walk closely with God, as believers ought to, then we certainly need His empowerment to help us, because that’s something we simply cannot do on our own. Our sinful nature, our weak will, and Lucifer’s constant prodding just won’t allow us to do it. But we have to walk that close walk to be true and faithful Christians!
And we have some excellent advice in our Bit on that subject, where Bruh Paul is talking to the Philippians, encouraging them to keep pressing on towards the mark, walking faithfully in the Spirit of God.
‘Brethren, be followers together of me (join in following my example), and mark (note) them which walk so as ye have us for an example (a pattern).’
And the scholars it thus: ‘Paul asks the Philippians to imitate him. (But) due to his absence they cannot observe him (personally), so he tells them to imitate those among them who live as he does.’
And my people, that admonition holds up even until today, and will be forever applicable as long as believers walk this ungodly earth, since we cannot do it all ourselves, but need like-minded persons around us to help and encourage us. That’s why fellowship amongst believers is ever so important, especially in these rough, trying and godless times!
Bruh Paul also said basically the same thing to the church at Corinth. ‘Wherefore I beseech (urge) you, be ye followers of (imitate) me. For this cause have I sent unto you Timothy, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.’ (1 Cor.4:16-17)
That’s why we need learned, responsible brethren like pastors and such to teach and show us the proper way to walk with Christ. All Christian congregations need good, strong, knowledgeable and sincere leadership and guidance, if they are going to thrive and succeed in doing the will of God.
And not wanting the Corinthians to forget that, Bruh Paul reminds them of it in Chapter 11. ‘Be ye followers (imitators) of me, even as I also am of Christ.’ (1 Cor.11:1)
Oh Friends, in this godless, evil age, we certainly need all the reminders we can get about walking safely, securely and faithfully with Jesus!
Now why is that so important eh? Bruh Paul goes on to explain it after our Bit. ‘(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind (set their mind on) earthly things.) (Phil.3:18-19)
And are there ever numerous enemies of the cross of Christ today my brethren; in fact there are more enemies than friends!
Now hear how the scholars explain those verses. ‘For provides the first reason the readers should emulate the apostle’s life; there are many professing Christians whose worldly, hedonistic lifestyle can corrupt them unless they imitate Paul. These enemies of the cross are described in four ways:
(1) Their end or destiny is destruction, that is eternal punishment. (2) Their God is their belly. In submitting to, and being controlled by their earthly nature, they worship their sensual desire by surrendering themselves to gluttony, sexual immorality, licentiousness, and all manner of unbridled lusts.
(3) Their glory or reputation consists in their shame – they are well known indeed, their renown being that of ignominy (dishonour, infamy). (4) Their mind is constantly on earthly rather than heavenly things.’
And isn’t that the living truth! Oh Friends, earthly excesses are all around us, and sadly have now become the norm rather than the exception. But as followers of Christ we can’t afford to get caught up in all the immorality and godlessness that’s so prevalent today.
It’s not easy Friends, and Jesus knows that, because it’s everywhere we turn, protruding from almost every little nook and cranny. Bruh Paul also recognized that ungodly lifestyle in his day, that’s why he’s so adamant about us staying on the straight and narrow path. But if he thought things were bad in his day, he’d have a fit, a heart attack when confronted by the high levels of evil and wickedness that’s running rampant in today’s world.
That’s why it’s ever so important for us to surround ourselves with true and faithful believers, otherwise we’re liable to get sucked into the evil and immorality that’s running riot.
Oh my brethren, in this age we also need to be pressing on diligently and steadfastly towards the mark; that’s walking faithfully in the dictates of God. And thankfully, this advice that Bruh Paul gave to Titus so long ago, still holds true today. Listen to it carefully.
‘In all things showing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine showing uncorruptness (integrity), gravity (reverence), sincerity (incorruptibility), Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part (an opponent) may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.’ (Titus 2:7-8)
Yes my fellow believers, that’s sound, wise and wholesome advice; advice that can surely benefit us all! So please, let’s read, mark, learn and inwardly digest it nuh, and thus be enabled to have that close or closer walk with Jesus, which we all so badly desire. Much LOVE!
…just as every job requires the right tools…to walk with Jesus…one must also acquire the right tools…
P.S. Please excuse the lateness of the Bit Friends, I simply got up late, then had problems finding a Bit that suited what I wanted to say. But as always…better late than never! (smile) Much LOVE!
27 May 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: admonition, aura of love, christian heritage, Creator of the universe, divine blessing, dogs, end times, enthusiasm, eternity, fat of rams, glorious kingdom, God's mysterious ways, God's righteous ways, good stead, hearken, heavenly citizenship, holy spirit, humble servants, idolaters, immortality, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy in heaven, last warning, liars, lord god almighty, Memorial Day, Monday Morning, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, murderers, New Jerusalem, obedience, obey God, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, rude response, sacrifice, sally forth with confidence, selfish attitudes, sinful nature, sorcerers, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, sure conquerors, tree of life, U.S brethren, ungodly world, useful purpose, weary souls, whoremongers
Revelation 22:14. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday…. And I get a rather rude response from some of my U.S brethren. ‘Oh shut up about it being Monday nuh! We doh care because we don’t have to go to work today. Is Memorial Day, so we just going back to sleep now, then get up and party later.’
And sadly Friends, that’s the kind of selfish attitude which is so prevalent in our world today. Last Monday when we celebrated Victoria Day, we got up and helped to boost their Monday morning adrenalin, but now that the shoe is on the other foot, it’s a completely different story. But such is our Christian heritage and maturity that we’ll forgive them, for we know that they are only human and thus still liable to resort to a sinful nature.
So for all of us who have to get up and go out to labour, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with a whole lot of enthusiasm, even though we don’t feel it. But we’re working on the premise that if you fake it, eventually it will become real. (smile) With one harmonious voice now, let’s raise our voices to the heavens.
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
That was good Friends! There was joy in heaven. But I have to laugh at how the Lord shamed our U.S. brethren into finally singing along with us. Don’t ever doubt His mysterious and righteous ways!
And now, turning to our Bit: ‘Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.’
Oh my brethren, that’s a most significant piece of scripture, for it’s the last warning we get at the end of the Good Book! Only by keeping the Lord’s commandments will we be assured of a place in the New Jerusalem, a place with God until eternity.
Now listen to how the verse after our Bit characterizes those who are not welcome there. ‘For without (outside) are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers (sexually immoral), and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh (practices) a lie.’ (Rev.22:15)
And here’s the scholars’ explanation of all that: ‘They that do his commandments are believers (cf. 12:17; 14:12; Matt.7:13-21); 1 John 3:10). The tree of life indicates immortality and divine blessing (cf.2:7; 22:2). To be able to enter in through the gates into the city is to have heavenly citizenship in the eternal dwelling place of God and redeemed mankind.
All unbelievers are without (outside) the city (i.e., in the lake of fire -cf v.15; 21:8,27). The dogs are impure and malicious people (cf. Deut.23:17-18; Phil.3:2). Sorcerers are those who practice witchcraft (Gr. pharmakos). Whoremongers are those who practice all kinds of sexual immorality (Gr. pornos; cf. 1 Cor. 6:9-10). Lie: See 12:9; Proverbs 16-19; 12:22; John 8:44.’
Oh Friends, that last part doesn’t sound like a place we want to be found at the end times nuh! So then, the only other option available is to do as our Bit wisely advises, follow the Lord’s commands. And please read the references given above, because they are for your benefit, your edification, not just for the scholars to seem knowledgeable.
You can’t really learn the scriptures unless you read and study them for yourselves. But that is such a difficult task to get believers to do on a consistent basis, because we’re still guided and dominated by the now for now, quick fix of today’s busy world.
However my people, that will never cut it. You can listen or read whatever pastors and people like me tell you, but until you read the Word consistently for yourself, you’ll never truly understand it.
And with that admonition, I think we’ll close for today, because the rest of what I have to say will make the Bit too long for our short attention spans. (smile) And we do have enough stuff to ponder already. So until tomorrow, our great God in favour, please, let’s all try to walk the straight and narrow path and keep the Lord’s commandments as best we can. It will serve certainly serve us in good stead in the upcoming end times. Much LOVE!
…to obey is better than sacrifice…and to hearken than the fat of rams… (1 Sam.15:22b)
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