The Overwhelming Importance of Christians Believing that Almighty God is Sufficient to Provide All Their Needs, Both in Good and Bad Times!

Today’s Scrip-Bit   25 September 2026   Psalm 62:8.

Psalm 62:8.        In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

It’s Friday friends, that day we all look forward to, and it’s another beautiful sunshiny day, without the brisk breeze of the last few days. But the best news is that not all of the sun’s heat has already migrated to the south. No! Because just now I went outside and felt it flush and wonderful on my face. That’s why our Friday Mantra was possibly so loud and sincere this first Friday of autumn! ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here at long last!’ Who wouldn’t be overjoyed at the prospect of a warm and sunshiny weekend in the last week of September eh? (smile) And with all the joy of the expected warm and sunshiny weekend, let’s offer up the prayer from this month’s In Touch Devotional.

Please pray with me: ‘Lord, when the news is heavy, I turn to You. Hear my prayer: Be a refuge for those caught between nations and forces beyond their control. Protect the innocent. Comfort the grieving. Guide those who are fleeing. Move in the hearts of those empowered to bring peace. And through it all, remind me that nations rise and fall, but You reign over all things. Lord, I entrust this to You. May I rest in Your care. In Jesus’ name, amen.’ Oh my people, that is certainly a prayer that we need today, with all the wars and rumours of wars that are being fought and heard around our evil and ungodly world.

And there is no one better to put our total trust and confidence in when bad tidings befall us than Almighty God, who created the universe and all therein and still rules it from His heavenly throne. Remember these marvellous words of Bruh David from Psalm 24: ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods (rivers).’ (Ps. 24:1-2)

Then, talking about a place of refuge, there’s also no place better to run to and hide than under the mighty wings of our God. As Bruh David again points out in Psalm 46. ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help (an abundantly available help) in trouble. Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst (heart) of the sea. Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountain shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.’ (Ps. 46:1) Yes friends, God provides a safe shelter, protection, and inner power when we face difficult or frightening times.

As Bruh David further says in Psalm 62: ‘My soul, (silently) wait thou only upon God; for my expectation (hope) is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved (shaken). In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.’ (Ps. 62:5-8) Oh my people, it could not be put any clearer than that! God is indeed our refuge and help in troubled times!

And as per protection for the innocent, I like this verse from Isaiah. ‘He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.’ (Is. 40:11) Where else can we get such protection? Nowhere else! But listen as the psalmist further informs us: ‘I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler (bird trapper), and from the noisome pestilence (perilous or deadly forces).

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shall thou trust (take refuge): his truth shall be thy shield and buckler (small shield).Thou shalt not be afraid for (of) the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth (lays waste) at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.’ (Ps. 91: 2-7) Ah mih bredrin, if that isn’t wonderful protection, then I don’t know what is!

And when talking about comfort, there’s certainly none better than our God, as Bruh Paul writes to the Corinthians. ‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all out tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble (tribulation), by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.’ (2 Cor. 1:3-4) Wow! What comfort can be better than that eh? God comforts us so that we can comfort others with that same comfort we receive from Him!

And as per guiding those who are fleeing violence, we know the Lord is the best at that, as He proved when the Israelites fled from slavery in Egypt. The Bible tells us: ‘And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.’ (Ex. 13:21-22) That’s what you call godly guidance! (smile)

But what we need most of all today my fellow believers is as the prayer says, for God to ‘Move in the hearts of those empowered to bring peace.’ Yes, that is today’s most needed divine aid, for there is way too much unnecessary suffering, killing, oppression, poverty, evil and ungodliness in our world right now! We need as Jesus says in the Beatitudes: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.’ (Matt. 5:9) Oh my people do we ever need those peacemakers, those children of God to stand up right now and make peace, because our world is dying from lack of it!

And to help us do our small part, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid. Altogether: ‘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. You know our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving, and we desperately need your help to fix them. Heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. So please give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. 

And despite the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times, help us to be responsible, and get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that we can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out next week and further your glorious kingdom by the good example we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

And friends, it’s also time for us to wake up and smell the coffee, because our lack of proper witness for Christ has contributed greatly to our world’s current ungodly and evil state! Much LOVE!

…if Christians don’t play their part…our world will continue sinking…into the mire of evil and ungodliness…

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

The Overwhelming Importance of Believers Knowing, Understanding and Appreciating God’s Great LOVE for Them!

Romans 5:8.        ‘But God commendeth (demonstrated) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’

Oh friends, it’s our lazy-day Saturday, and I’ve seen the first blossoms, the first true blooming of the marvellous season of spring! Yes, in the beautiful yellow flowers of a tree in my backyard! And please don’t ask me what kind of tree it is, because I don’t have a clue. (smile) But after all the promises of spring that’s been recently taunting us; with buds on the trees, birds singing and the days getting warmer, we can now definitely say that spring’s been sprung! Yes my fellow believers, that marvelous and miraculous rebirth of nature is truly on it’s way after a somewhat tough winter.

And truthfully, the winter was not as tough as some we use to have before climate change disrupted everything, and made us soft, after experiencing a period of easy winters. But that’s all behind us now, for spring is here and thanksgiving rises to the heavens for all the blazing new colour and majesty of this time. And in honour of all that, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, with all sincerity and truth!

As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

Yes mih bredrin, if our prayer was sincere, then we know that the wonderful God we serve will soon bring us closer to His heart, and bestow His wonderful peace and calm in our spirits, because His Number One priority is to have greater intimacy with His most wonderful creation, mankind! And He’s shown that in so many ways, in so many promises that if we don’t know and understand that by now, we’ll never do so.

Listen to this promise from the prophet Isaiah: ‘Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand (in strength), and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work (wage) before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.’ (Is. 40:10-11)

Now why would God make such a promise if He didn’t desire to be in close intimacy with His creation eh? His desire is to treat us in a LOVING manner like a shepherd treats his sheep. And what can be more convincing of the Lord’s great LOVE for us than His sending His son Jesus to earth to die on the cross of calvary so that our sins could be paid for, then raising Him up from the grave on the third day, at Easter, which we’re still celebrating, so that we can have the wonderful options of salvation and eternal life? That’s reconciling us back to Himself; bringing us back to his fold, and causing us to spend eternity in His awesome presence.

Yes friends, all of that was motivated by that one majestic word: LOVE! And I can’t help quoting one of my favourite scripture verses here. (smile) This one from Bruh Paul’s letter to the church at Rome, where he exposes the true and wonderful heart of God to us, when he writes: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrated) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8) Why would He do such a thing unless His LOVE and compassion were overwhelming for us eh?

Because, as Peter says, He ‘is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but all should come to repentance.’ (2 Pet. 3:9b) Of course, the Lord doesn’t want to lose any of His magnificent creation to hellfire and damnation. Just like we don’t want to lose any of our children or descendants to it. And we do that because we have much LOVE and compassion for them, and don’t want their souls to be lost forever in eternal separation from their Creator.

And Jesus Himself explained it better than anyone else, when He said to Nicodemus, the Jewish leader who secretly came to Him under cover of night seeking answers. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world though him might be saved.’ (John 3:16-17)

There again we see it my people, it’s all about God’s great LOVE for mankind. And you can’t have real and true LOVE unless you have a fair amount of intimacy. That’s why it’s ever so important for us to get close to our heavenly Father so that we can experience all the LOVE and compassion He has for us. He has already played and shown His hand by sending Jesus to die for us, it’s now our turn to reciprocate that LOVE by keeping Him first place in our lives and sincerely living this earthly life the way He desires. That’s all He asks of us; obedience to Him and His Word!

And though that’s sometimes difficult to do in this ungodly world with Satan and all his evil cronies on our case, the Lord has already given us all we need to fight the good fight: His Word with His many promises, the Holy Spirit that indwells us to lead, guide and comfort us, and easy access to Him though prayer and supplication. What else do we need eh? Nothing, but to get up off our fat and lazy fannies and do the work we’ve pledged to do for Christ!

And this lazy-day Saturday in the spring of 2026, is as good a day as any for us to truly contemplate how we’re living for Christ, and how we can and need to improve it, for we all have room for improvement. And my fellow believers, we all also know that our world desperately needs to see plenty improvement right now, if we’re to prevent it from further sinking into the mire of evil and ungodliness that it’s currently doing! Much LOVE!

…Christ has already done His part…proclaiming victory over sin and death…now we must do our part…keeping His victory alive…

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