30 May 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundance, according to his riches in glory, all things work together for good, an house of defence, be about the Lord's business, be careful for nothing, be of good cheer, be thou my strong rock, Bible, bow down thine ear to me, commit our spirits into the Lord's hand, courage, curse, deliver me in thy righteousness, deliver me speedily, faith, god, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, I commit my spirit, i have overcome the world, in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, in me ye might have peace, In thee O Lord do I put my trust, into thine hand, Jesus, Jesus Christ, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, let me never be ashamed, LOVE, my God shall supply all your needs, MY rock and My fortress, negative word, O Lord God of truth, one foot in both worlds, psalms, sacrifices, self-control, sit on the fence, take up your cross daily, talent, the peace of God which passeth all understading, thou hast redeemed me, Thursday Blessings, to them who love God, total trust in the Lord, tribulation, truth, who are called according to His purpose
Psalm 31:1. ‘In thee, O Lord do put my trust (take refuge); let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness.
And then it was Thursday…And yes, the ole fella is up somewhat early to be about the Lord’s business, that’s because I have a couple of medical appointments this afternoon and did not want to be rushing around later to accomplish my tasks. So strange things do happen in this world, today, instead of being late…we’re being early! (smile) Now what are we going to talk about this morning eh, this sunny but somewhat chilly penultimate day in May? Well the Good Library opened just now in the Book of Psalms, and my eyes alighted first on Psalm 31 – Bruh David talking about ‘My Rock and My Fortress.’ One of his many psalms of both lament and praise.
So please read with me: ‘In thee, O Lord do put my trust (take refuge); let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock (rock of refuge) for an house of defence (fortress) to save me. For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me. Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily (secretly) for me: for thou art my strength. Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.’ (Ps. 31:1-5)
Oh friends, those are powerful words of commitment and trust! Bruh David was serious about them, and as we read them, the question arises, are we also serious in our commitment to Almighty God? Do we consider Him our strong rock and fortress of refuge, our strength and deliverer in these turbulent and topsy turvy times? Let’s hope so, for we surely do need someone bigger and stronger than us to help us get through the craziness that’s overtaken our world. And who better than the Lord God Almighty, the Creator, and Controller of the universe, the most powerful being in existence. If He cannot take care of us, then no one can.
But as Bruh David says, we have to commit our spirits into His hand if we want His protection. And that’s totally, not partially, as we like to do in most godly things. For some reason we don’t seem to trust the Lord completely, or we just want to always have some sort of control over our goings and comings. However friends, with the Lord it’s ALL or NOTHING at ALL! He doesn’t do partway stuff, so for those of us who like to sit on the fence and try to have a foot in both worlds, He will not pay any attention to your cries for help.
And we all know that, but yet we still always try to withhold something, not give all of ourselves, possibly because we don’t truly trust the Lord to take care of all of our needs as Bruh Paul assured the Philippians. ‘But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:19) Yes friends, we mouth it, but don’t sincerely believe it…well not all the way. But our God needs our sincere trust and surrender if He is to do much good for us. You’ll notice in Bruh David’s own life, although he was hounded by enemies on all sides, he gave his total trust to God, and the Father, in His time and way resolved them for him.
Note, his problems did not go away overnight, or that he never had any further problems, but he stood his ground with God throughout all his trials and that’s the way we need to be. Regardless of our circumstances, how threatening or fearful they might be, we need to stand strong in the Lord and His might and believe as the word says: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’ (Rom. 8:28) The problem is that we expect God to fix all of our problems right away and allow us to live a life of wine, women and song, without any further encumbrances.
But that will never happen, for in this sinful and ungodly world, we will have troubles and problems until the day we die, because that’s just the kind of world we live in. As Jesus rightly said: ‘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) And yes, it’s not easy to have good cheer when your whole world seems to be crumbling down around you, but if you have put your sincere trust in Jesus, then you will indeed have a modicum of peace during your trials.
Your circumstances will not drive you crazy, or to drink and drugs, but you’ll fall on your knees and ask the Lord for help, while giving Him thanks and praise. As Bruh Paul wisely advises us: ‘Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in EVERY THING by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:6-7) Now again, that isn’t always easy to do, but if we have sincerely trusted Jesus, and believe that we can do all things through Him who strengthens us, (Phil. 4:13) then we will be able to handle whatever comes against us.
Many of us erroneously believe that coming to Christ means a life of ease and comfort, but oftentimes it’s not. It might even mean more problems, tests and sacrifices, because living for Jesus desires us to take up our crosses daily and walk with him, forgetting ourselves, so we can do His work. The good news though friends is that living for Christ is all worth it, for in the long run the rewards greatly eclipse the sacrifices. But it takes strong and sincere faith and belief and a willingness to give up all for Christ.
And on the good side of things, we have a whole lot of undeserved blessings, that the Lord has generously bestowed on us to do His earthly work. We call them our Thursday Blessings, but they have to be declared to be activated. So let’s do that right now nuh. As one voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And having declared those blessings, we’re now duty bound to go out and use them on behalf of others, just as generously as the Lord bestowed them on us! Much LOVE!
…to receive all of God’s favour…we must trust Him…ALL THE WAY…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
06 Mar 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man after God's heart, be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, Bible, blessed is the man, bringeth forth its fruit in his season, catch our second wind, choose life, christianity, confident trust, endure to the end, eternal death and damnation, eternal live, eyes fixed straight ahead, faith, fulfill my will, god, halfway home, hands on the plough, his delight is in the law of the Lord, Jesus, Jesus Christ, keep God first place in our lives, like the chaff which the wind driveth away, LOVE, meditate day and night, not looking back, obedience will bring blessings, obey God's Word, places future in God's hands, psalms, regardless of the cost, remain steadfast in God, sit on the fence, sitteth in the seat of the scornful, standeth in the way of sinners, the breath of life, the congregation of the righteous, the man God honours, the ungodly shall persih, to a glorious future with Jesus, totally committed to God, walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, Wednesday Wail, wisdom
Psalm 1:1. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly (wicked), nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Ah mih people, unfortunately, this middle day of our work week, Wednesday, has opened somewhat dark and damp. But please don’t allow the gloomy weather to stop us from catching our second wind, as we must, if we want to get through the rest of the week in good shape. Sadly too, the Bit will be somewhat late today, because I soon have to leave and go to church for our Wednesday morning small gathering, but then I also have a church meeting after that, so it will be awhile before I get back to finish my early work. But don’t worry, it’s all in the Lord’s service! (smile) And as always, He will reward us with some excellent words of wisdom when we continue. Soon come!
Well we’re finally back two and a half hours later… but with a good word, as it relates to ‘The Man (& Woman) God Honours.’ That’s a poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. Now, it specifically talks about men, but I’ve also included women, because all the things men do these days women do it too, and we wouldn’t want to be labelled sexist. (smile) And to make it more concise and more easily read, I’ve also taken the liberty of changing the pronouns ‘He and His,’ to ‘They and Theirs.’ Furthermore, I don’t know if I’ve shared this one before, because it doesn’t sound familiar, but if I have, it’s certainly interesting enough to share again. (smile)
So please read with me: ‘There are thousands of men and women in the world. Men and women come in assorted sizes – tall and short, wide and lean. There are bankers, salesmen, politicians, mechanics, lawyers, teachers. But the man or woman that God honours is marked by at least five characteristics: FIRST: They are totally committed to God, and their concern is that they will obey God’s Word, whatever the cost. SECOND: They are persons whose faith can be defined as confident trust. Their high priority is prayer, knowing that a supernatural God works in supernatural ways.
THIRD: They rest their past, present, and future in the hands of an ALL-LOVING God, even in times of turbulence, uncertainty, agony, misunderstanding, and pain, assured that their times are in God’s hands. FOURTH: They believe with all their heart that, as they keep steadily traveling along God’s pathway, God will honour them with every blessing. FIFTH: They have one consistent desire: “God, make me a person after your own heart.”
Yes friends, those are the five basic characteristics a believer ought to have. And we surely can’t find fault with any of them, since that’s the way the Lord has outlined His plan for mankind. Being totally committed and obedient, regardless of the cost; with strong faith and belief in the efficacy of prayer; placing their whole lives in God’s hands, surrendering their all to Him, in spite of the circumstances; assured that if they follow God’s plan, He will eventually honour them with blessings untold; and above all, to be called a man or a woman after God’s own heart.
Now that is one of the most important honours God can bestow on us. And we don’t have to be perfect to get it, but our hearts have to be right with God, like Bruh David’s was, although he was by no means perfect, but very fallible like all of us. As it says in Acts 13:22: ‘And when he had removed him (Saul), he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom he also gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill my will.’ And the original scripture can be found in 1 Sam. 13:14.
‘A man after mine own heart’ relates to two things; first that Bruh David was God’s choice for king, and not the people’s, and secondly that at first Bruh David’s character morally was exceptional, and though He faltered with his murder of Uriah and adultery with Uriah’s wife Bathsheba, he never moved away from God, like so many others. His faith and trust always remains steadfast in the God of his forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And I believe that’s what the Lord wants to see from His people, more than anything; despite our shortcomings, we never move away from Him, always keep Him first place in our hearts and lives, always trying to do His holy will.
And some of us must be wandering what’s the Bible verse for today’s writing? Well here it is finally. It comes from our well known Psalm 1. And reads thus: ‘Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly (wicked), nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate (ponder) day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers (channels) of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. for the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.’ (Ps. 1:1-6)
Ah friends, that first Psalm says it all in a very neat and concise form. If you follow the Lord’s dictates, learn His law and obey it, you will live a blessed life. If you don’t, then your life will be miserable and eventually you will perish. It’s simple math’s, not rocket science; obey and live eternal life, disobey and die eternal death. And it’s up to each of us to decide which option we’ll choose…and we have to choose one or the other, for trying to sit on the fence is counted as disobedience. (smile)
And for those of us who are endeavouring to live right, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our marvellous position in Christ Jesus! As one voice: ‘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 there’s a further promise to look forward to: if we endure with Jesus right to the very end, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine. So please, let’s make plans to meet at the very end and together enjoy that more than glorious future nuh! That’s wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!
…we’ve been offered life or death…let’s be wise and choose life…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
04 Jun 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compromise of Christianity with paganism, bring backsliders back to your fold, Christ is sufficient for all believers needs, Christ will judge false teachers, Covid-19 virus, eat of the hidden manna, embrace your love and compassion, expect god's blessing, faithful believers, Friday chant, give him a white stone, in the stone a new name written, message to the church at Pergamos, omnipotent help, racial strife, repent of the toleration, Satan's seat, Satanic influence, saving he that receiveth it, sinful world, sit on the fence, the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, these things saith he, to him that overcometh, trusting faith, wake up and smell the coffee, which hath the sharp sword with two edges, which no man knoweth
Revelation 2:12. These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;
A merry Friday morning mih people! The sun’s shining brightly, the birds are singing sweetly, a cool, gentle breeze is blowing o’er the land, and Jesus is on His throne on High! Wow! That means everything’s right with the world! At least in our Jesus-filled hearts, souls and minds, for that’s what He does when we become His sincere followers and His Holy Spirit enters us, heals and seals us, once and for all, as a child of Almighty God! Glory be my faithful brethren!
Now, yesterday we were looking at Christ’s message to the churches in Asia Minor through the vision of John the apostle during his exile on the isle of Patmos. We talked about the messages to the churches at Ephesus and Smyrna, today we’ll look at the message to one more church, that at Pergamos, which said: ‘These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;’ (Rev. 2:12)
And the scholars say of that verse: ‘Pergamos, or Pergamum, was located about 50 miles north of Smyrna. The name may mean “Thoroughly Married,” and may represent the state church which is “married” to a political system. The reference to the sharp sword shows that Christ will judge the false teachers at Pergamos.’
Then Christ continues: ‘I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat (throne) is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.” (Rev. 2:13)
And according to the scholars: ‘Satan’s seat or throne may be a reference to the religious paganism centred in Pergamos. The city had a throne-like altar to the god Zeus, a temple to Asklepios (symbolized by a serpent), and various temples dedicated to the worship of the Roman emperor. Christ here commends the church at Pergamos for remaining faithful in the midst of such Satanic influence.’
However, Christ wasn’t done with Pergamos: ‘But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block (put an enticement to sin) before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication (sexual immorality). So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.’ (Rev. 2:14-16)
Serious words from our Lord and Saviour my brethren! And the scholars have this to say about verses 14-16. ‘The doctrine of Balaam was a compromise of Christianity with paganism, resulting in idolatry and immorality. Balaam had once succeeded in leading many Israelites into these sins (cf. Num. 31:16; 2 Pet. 2:15; Jude 11). The entire church is urged to repent of the toleration and sins of those false teachers, before Christ has to judge them Himself. The church should discipline itself and not tolerate false teaching and immorality within.’
Now if Christ said that to the church at Pergamos back then, what do you think He is saying to the current church which is laden with false teachers and sexual immorality that’s tolerated by the leaders, or worse yet, have leaders engaged in those ungodly acts? Oh friends, we all know that the current state of Christ’s church is far from satisfactory, and we are not doing enough to correct the iniquity and corruption that’s buried within it. But please listen to what Jesus says after every message to a church: ‘He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.’
It’s a straight up warning, and to each church He promises something different if they repent and/or stand strong. Yesterday we saw what He promised to the churches at Ephesus and Smyrna. Now, to the church at Pergamos, He promised: ‘To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving (except) he that receiveth it.’ (Rev. 2:17)
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘Manna in the Old Testament represents sustenance and life (cf. John 6:48-51). Christ is sufficient for all the believer’s needs. The white stone with its new name symbolizes acceptance and approval by God.’ Now who doesn’t want to receive God’s acceptance and approval eh?
Well some foolish people don’t, but those of us, blessed with even a smattering of common sense and a touch of wisdom, will undoubtedly want to please God and receive His acceptance and approval. and the first stage in doing that is approaching Him in sincere prayer, laying down all our doubts, fears and problems before Him. And there’s no time like the present, that’s right now, to do it. So let’s come before Him and express our Friday Chant.
As one sincere voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and the racial strife is causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks.
And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And to receive a positive response from the Lord, we now have to show ourselves to be truly faithful believers. That’s all there is to it friends! Much LOVE!
…you can’t waiver…or sit on the fence…and expect God’s blessing…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
06 Jun 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a constant struggle, abundance, as for me an my house, baptizing, Beelzebub, curse, examples of our lives, faithful service, fleshly self, foolish personalities, generously, god, haughty, Joshua, kind, lay not up earthly treasures, lazy, logic, loving, making disciples, meritorious benefits, moth and rust doth corrupt, motives of the heart, negative word, not rich towards God, parable of the rich fool, proud, saints of Christ, self-control, self-discipline, selfishly hoard, selfless, sit on the fence, spiritual being, talent, the devil, the Father, the Holy Spirit, the prince of darkness, the SON, there is your heart, thieves break through and steal, Thursday Blessings, treasures in heaven, two options, we will serve the Lord, where your treasure is, wisdom, worthless baubles of the world, you got to bow to somebody
Matthew 6:19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal.
Well it’s wet and somewhat cloudy…but that’s nothing new! (smile) And it’s certainly not going to stop we saints of Christ from going about His business, witnessing to the unsaved, making disciples of them, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and leading lives that exemplify the glory and LOVING-kindness of Jesus!
Oh friends, that’s what we are called on to do, and do it we must, or the world will just be more strife-filled and sink even deeper into the mire of evil and ungodliness. It’s too bad already! Can you imagine it getting worse? But that’s what will happen if we don’t stand up NOW and be counted!
Just think about your children or grandchildren living in such an ungodly and evil world nuh. Think about them not knowing or even hearing about Jesus and the awesome stuff He’s done for mankind, and the wonderful treasures He has stored up for those who sincerely LOVE and obey Him. What kind of life would they be living eh? A satanic life of greed, selfishness, lust, envy and all the other stuff that will have them heading straight for hell and eternal damnation!
That means you won’t be seeing them in heaven, won’t be congregating with them in better circumstances that this evil earth. Like the rich man and the beggar Lazarus, they’ll be begging you to send a drop of water to cool their burning tongues in the raging fires of Hades and you’ll be unable to help them in the least bit! So let’s think on these things nuh and try to do better in our teaching and the examples our lives portray.
Oh, none of us are perfect, but we can all certainly improve and do better with the help of God. The problem though is that we are either too lazy, or too interested in the fancy but worthless baubles of the world…and asking God for help, well that’s definitely not in some of our proud, haughty and foolish personalities! But please remember people, in this world you got to bow to somebody, and the two main options are God and the devil himself!
You have to choose one. You just can’t sit on the fence, as so many of us try to do, and hope that everything will work out right, because it won’t! The two powerful entities that control things want you all for themselves, don’t want to share one iota of you with the other, so they’ll both try their level best to get you fully into their camp. That means a constant struggle between the devil; your earthly and fleshly self, and the Lord; your heavenly and spiritual being!
So whom are you going to choose eh? Remember Jesus said that no man can serve two masters; you can’t serve God and mammon too. (Matt.6:24) That means you have to make a conscious choice. And hopefully we’ll all declare like Joshua did: ‘But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ (Josh.24:15d) Yeh friends, that’s the smart thing to do, the wise move to consciously make.
Why? Although Jesus calls on us to be more selfless, generous, LOVING and kind, sentiments that the world consider folly, the things that He has in store for us are way way more useful and important than the things Beelzebub, the prince of darkness has to offer.
And as always, Jesus put’s it so simply and succinctly: ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Matt.6:19-21) Now doesn’t that sound like simple, sensible logic and wisdom? It certainly does!
That’s because all the treasures we amass here on earth, time and insects will eventually destroy, or people will steal them. And for sure we can’t carry any with us! Oh, I know some of us will have them place some in the box with us, (smile) but they’ll be no good on the other side, neither in heaven nor in hell. That’s why listening to Jesus, and following Him is the wiser of the two options we have. For if we do that, then we’ll end up in heaven, and will have treasures stored up their for us, that will be even better than those down here on earth.
Unfortunately though, many of us can’t see the forest for the trees, can’t see the bigger picture, always believing that a bird in the hand is better than two or three in the bush. But friends, with Jesus, we have to see it that way. And we can only do so by faith, believing for that which we don’t see. And yes, that’s not easy, especially with the kind of world we’re currently living in.
But as Jesus taught in the parable of the rich fool, (Luke 12:13-21) who, not caring about anybody but himself, kept building bigger and better and storing up treasures here on earth. And what happened when the Lord called him home unexpectedly eh? All his earthly treasure was left behind for others to fight over, and he had none in heaven to go to. ‘So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’ (Luke 12:21)
And it’s oh so important that we hear this explanation from the scholars. ‘6:19-21. The attention of the believer is directed toward treasures in heaven. The term treasures implies the addition or accumulation of things. The two kinds of treasures are conditioned by their place (either on earth or in heaven). The concept of laying up treasures in heaven is not pictured as one of meritorious benefits but rather of rewards for faithful service, as is illustrated elsewhere in the teaching of Jesus.’ So heavenly rewards depend more on the attitude of our hearts and service, than just what we deserve for doing good.
Now let’s go home declaring (yes!) our Thursday Blessings. In full voice and strong belief: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And please remember, those wonderful blessings haven’t been given to us to selfishly hoard, but to go out and share with the less fortunate…generously…and with the right motive in our hearts! Much LOVE!
…in all that we do…be it good or bad…the Lord looks for the motives in our hearts…
01 Mar 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a serious toll, abundance, acknowledge, adamant people, adversity, ashamed, be known, bombarding our world, bounden duty, calamity, can't kill the soul, Christ's body, Christian faith, communicating the gospel, compassionate heart, confess me, confrontation, courage, curse, deny me before men, destroy both soul and body, discipleship, drift away, earthly fortunes, eternal life, fear, fear them not, fight the good fight, first of March, foolish, Gentiles, hard work, hear, hid, I will deny before my Father, in darkness speak in the light, in heaven, in the name of Jesus, individuals, Jews, kill the body, lackadaisical, lifelong resitance, like a whirlwind, magnanimous god, missing out on salvation, necessity, negative word, nothing covered, open confession, persecutors, pilgrim's journey, preach from the housetops, proselytize, prosper, public confession, reap benefits, reap peas, refuse to believe n Jesus, rejection, salvation, scared, shall be revealed, shame, sit on the fence, soldiers in Christ's army, sow rice, stubborn, success, the church, the gospel of christ, the One and Only Living God, the power of God, Thursday's Blessings, tragedy, two edged sword, ungodliness, wisdom, wishy-washy
Matthew 10:33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
And then it was the first of March… Can you believe it? January and February have passed us by like a whirlwind! It’s now an old year! (smile) Unfortunately though, not much has changed over the past two months, there is still an overwhelming amount of adversity, calamity and tragedy bombarding our world.
Ungodliness is also taking a serious toll on our earthly fortunes, as lots of people, for whatever reason, unfortunately drift away from the ONE and ONLY TRUE LIVING GOD. How sad that is friends, knowing that so many of our fellow man stand the very good likelihood of missing out on salvation and eternal life with Christ. And there’s nothing more important that that, in this entire world!
But as individuals, and as Christ’s body, the church, we can only do so much. However, I do believe that we’re not doing as much as we can. It’s doubtful that we’ll ever proselytize EVERYBODY on the planet, because there are just some stubborn, foolish, adamant people who will just flatly refuse to ever believe in Jesus, but we can surely give it a greater effort than we’re currently doing.
Too many of us are too lackadaisical about communicating the gospel to others, and some simply refuse to do it for fear of confrontation, rejection or shame. But please remember the momentous words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in our Bit: ‘But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.’ Ah mih people, it couldn’t get any plainer than that nuh.
And earlier on He said to the disciples: ‘Fear them not therefore (persecutors): for there is nothing covered (veiled), that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what hear ye in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.’ (Matt.10:26-28)
Yes friends, there is no need to fear what man can do to us, because he can only kill the body, but we need to fear God, who can kill both body and soul. Thus, once we embark upon the pilgrim’s journey with Christ, we cannot afford to let fear of man put us off, but we have to keep on fighting the good fight to spread the gospel to ALL the world, because that’s our bounden duty.
And as good soldiers in Christ’s army, we need to do our duty sincerely and proudly and with lots of courage. Please note what Jesus said right before our Bit. ‘Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.10:32)
And the scholars enlighten us as to the meaning of our Bit and that verse. ‘10:32-37. Confess me means “Acknowledge that you belong to Me.” In reality, secret discipleship is a practical impossibility. Jesus constantly called for an open confession of Himself by His followers. That our confession is to be before men clearly indicates that a public confession of true Christian faith is a virtual necessity.
The warning whosoever shall deny me is a comprehensive historical aorist tense, (hn!) referring not to one moment of denial (such as Peter’s), but to an entire lifelong resistance to Christ. Therefore, a single act of denial does not make one unworthy of being a disciple, but a refusal to confess Christ at all eliminates one from being a true follower of Jesus Christ.’
What more can I say eh mih breddren. The scholars hit the nail on the head. We either acknowledge Jesus in public, or we don’t. We can’t sit on the fence, scared and wishy-washy. That doesn’t work in Jesus’ organization. A lot of us want to reap the benefits of knowing Jesus but don’t want to put in the hard work those benefits require before they can become reality.
Remember friends, in God’s economy, whatever you sow, that is what you’re going to reap. So don’t think you can deny Jesus and still get to heaven. As true believers in Jesus, we ought to proudly and courageously say and act like Bruh Paul: ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Gentiles).’ (Rom.1:16)
Yes my people, that’s how we ought to think of the gospel of Christ, because it is indeed powerful, remember, it’s like a two edged sword. That means we have to be very careful with it, not play around with it like some ordinary knife, else we’re liable to get cut very badly with it. (smile) So please, let’s sit and ponder today, how we are treating the gospel of Christ, and if we’re denying or confessing Him, because that’s the key to our eternal salvation.
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings in strong voice and heartfelt sincerity. ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Oh what a magnanimous God we serve my people! Now let’s go out and share those blessings with others, as He intends for us to do. Much LOVE!
…you can’t sow rice and expect to reap peas…likewise…you can’t deny Christ…and expect Him to confess you before His Father…
29 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundance, adulteres, be not overcome of evil, blessed, carnal, cavorting with the enemy, Christ is alive in your hearts, Christ's sacrifice, Christians, consequences, courage, creativity, curse, elixir, enamoured of the world, enemy of God, enmity with God, enough for me, faith, faithful promise, favour, foolishness, friend of the world, friendship of the world, glory to God, humble apology, if any man love the world, Jesus Christ, love not the world, lustful world, merciful Father, negative word, no brainer, one foot in God's realm, one foot in the world, our Lord and Saviour, overcome evil with good, prosper, rewards of God, righteous living, rigours of getting old, rough night, seek first God's righteousness, self-control, self-discipline, shining in my heart, sit on the fence, sleep, succeed, talent, the benefit of choice, the light of the Son, the love of the Father, the things in the world, the will of God, Thursday Blessings, too tired to sleep, traitorous behaviour, vital signs, what a wonderful God we serve and worship
1 John 2:15. LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him.
Oh friends, please accept my humble apology for the lateness of the Bit, but the ole fella had an unexplainable rough night last night. For some reason I can’t fathom, that wonderful elixir called sleep simply eluded me for most of the night.
And it’s not like I wasn’t tired, I was, because I had been running around doing stuff in and out of the house for most of the day. And generally I can sleep whether I’m tired or not, but not last night. Steups!
The only thing I can attribute it to is that I was too tired to sleep. Hn! I must admit too, that I felt a bit hyper, though all my vital sings were normal. And as expected, when I did get to sleep, the body just refused to awaken until it was satisfied. Ah Lord eh! The rigours of getting old! (smile)
But you know what mih brethren? Though outside is wet and cloudy, more rain again last night, with little or no sunshine, and my back is aching more than I’d like, the brilliant light of the Son, of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is shining magnificently in the ole fella’s heart…and that is certainly enough for me! Glory to God in His high heaven!
And I’d advise you too friends, that once Christ is alive and well in your hearts, then nothing else really matters, for He will take care of everything, that is His faithful promise! Oh what a wonderful God we serve and worship my fellow believers!
That’s why it’s so surprising that so many supposed Christians still put the carnal and lustful world before the holy and righteous, just and merciful Father, especially when we’ve been specifically told not to, in our Bit.
‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him.’
Oh my people, I don’t see how it could be any clearer than that nuh! And we know that we can’t LOVE the Father and the enemy at the same time…but some of us are indeed trying to do it, with one foot in the world and one in God’s realm.
But that’s pure foolishness friends! It won’t work, you can’t sit on the fence and jump from one side to the other.
And James tells us in no uncertain terms. ‘Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of (with) the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will (wants to) be a friend of the world is the enemy (makes himself the enemy) of God.’ (James 4:4)
And that’s no lie! So I don’t see why so many of us are still pandering to the worthless and evil enemy, thus negating all that Christ has done for us.
In the immortal words of Bruh Paul to the Galatians. ‘Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world (age), according to the will of God. To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.’ (Gal.1:4-5)
Yeh mih people, why knowingly make Christ’s great sacrifice a waste of time eh, by frivolously cavorting with the enemy? We’ll have to answer for that some day, and believe me, the consequences for such traitorous behaviour won’t be cheap or easy.
But the Lord in His wisdom gave us each the benefit of choice, and so, we’ll just have to pay for the bad choices we make. As the old people would say, however you make up your bed, that’s how you’ll lie down on it.
So if it’s rumpled up with plenty sin, then you’ll just have to endure the consequences, but if it’s well made with righteous living, then you’ll enjoy the everlasting rewards of God. And I’m chuckling here at how the ole fella is ‘preachifying.’
But friends, you all know what I’m talking about: we desperately need to get away from being too enamoured of the carnal things of the world, and return to the righteous things of God; seek first His righteousness, then we’ll get everything that we need, instead of first seeking everything we need, then trying to turn to God afterwards.
Chuh! That’s pure foolishness! And we’ll give the last scriptural word to Bruh Paul in his address to the Romans. ‘Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.’ (Rom.12:21) Words of indisputable wisdom to truly live by my fellow believers!
Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings with which we’ve been so thoroughly blessed. In all sincerity and truth, in one strong, unified voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And since blessings are meant to be shared, let’s go out and generously share them with others nuh, the same way that God has generously shared them with us. Much LOVE!
…LOVING God…and trying to please Him…instead of Lucifer…should be a no-brainer for wise humans…especially supposed believers…
03 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, adversity, all of us, anger, Anselm, backbone, belly, Christ-like, Christian faith, comfort, controversy, cry out, enjoyable life, exaltation, faithful followers, foundational verse, God is on his throne, God's children, half measures, heartfelt passion, indisputable truth, inspire others, leadership, long range plans, LOVE, management, Moses, not be afraid, pathways, raise the bar, Saturday, sit on the fence, sleep in, thanks and praise, the Holy One of Israel, the Lord is my salvation, the Lord is my strength and song, the Lord Jehovah, the ultimate measure of a man, times of challenge, to know Him is to love Him, tragic circumstances, trust, ungodly activities, walk of faith, Zion
Psalm 118:14. The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.
Saturday, oh Saturday, what do you have in store for us today eh? Ah friends, many of us who are getting up early this morning are indeed wondering what the day holds for us, and even what we hold for the day. (smile)
But the blessed ones are those who choose to sleep in late, not worrying about what the world has planned for them, but knowing that their plan for the world is to sleep in…and enjoy it too. They are not only blessed, but wise too, not overly concerned about the mess, the tragic circumstances existing all over our world. They will probably live longer and have a more enjoyable life than those of us who allow ourselves to be frustrated by the evil and ungodly activities that are currently tearing our world apart.
We have to remember friends that our wise and wonderful God is still on His throne and is still in control of all circumstances, and nothing will happen unless He allows it to happen. He has His long range plans that we won’t ever understand. So let’s just relax nuh, take one day at a time, do our best to work God’s plan for our individual lives, and give Him all the thanks and praise we can. Sermon done! (smile)
Now let’s check out a few of our friend Anselm’s quotes of this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Here is the first one: ‘The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.’
That’s indisputable truth my brethren! For it’s only when we face adversity that we truly see what kind of person we are. Are we strong, do we have belly and backbone, can we handle the stuff that’s coming at us without breaking down?
And nowhere is it more noticeable and applicable than in our Christian faith! Why you ask? Because every day in our walk of faith stuff comes against us that tests us, and we can only grow and pass the tests by handling them in a strong and faithful manner.
Hence, we come to this next quote: ‘Average leaders raise the bar on themselves; good leaders raise the bar for others; great leaders inspire others to raise their own bar.’ More indisputable truth friends! A true leader is one who can inspire another to improve himself.
That leads to this quote: ‘Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.’ No lie! The leader sets the agenda, while the manager carries it out. So ‘In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.’
We certainly can’t my people, we need to be moving onwards and upwards, becoming more Christ-like every day! That’s the basic plan for all of God’s children, but since we’re all different, He uses different ways to get us there. But my faithful followers, whatever methods and pathways our God uses to make us become like His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we must all come to the conclusion declared in our Bit. ‘The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.’
Yes friends, until we can sincerely believe and proclaim that foundational verse with heartfelt passion, like the psalmist did so long ago, our progress will be painfully slow. That’s because we can’t become like Christ if we don’t truly believe in God and surrender our very being to Him. We can only get strong in God when we let it all go and allow Him to guide our lives. All the great men of God had to do that, otherwise they would not have become great men of God.
Listen to how Moses puts it in his song. ‘The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him a habitation (praise Him); my father’s God, and I will exalt him.’ (Ex.15:2)
Yeh mih people, we have to give up our will and let the Lord lead us in His. Yuh think Moses would have done all the wonders he did in God’s name if he had tried to hold on to his own will. No, never! But a lot of us nowadays try to sit on the fence, allowing God to do some things in our lives, but stubbornly withholding other stuff that we want to handle. It won’t work friends, for our God wants ALL of us, or nothing at all. He’s not a God of half measures.
Now hear this other great man of God, Isaiah, as he talks about thanksgiving for God’s mercies. ‘And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song, he also is become my salvation.
Therefore with joy shall we draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings (mighty deeds) among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.’ (Is.12:1-6)
Ah mih people, when we truly accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour and get seriously walking with Him, we will feel those things deep down in our hearts and souls, and impulsively break out in song with the same praise and exaltation. It’s the wisdom of heaven! Much LOVE!
…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…
13 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a pure heart, accept conditions, Anselm's quotes, bickering, blessings, blood of the everlasting covenant, charity, children of God, choices in life, clarion call of Jesus, clay, cleanse, coaxed down, cold-turkey, comfort, compassion, complain, complaining, correction, Daylight Savings Time, dishonour, disputes, doctrine, encouragement, equipped, faith, fellowship, fight the good fight, fluctuating, friends, furnished, gentle, gold, good examples, good works, habits, honour, inertia, inspiration of God, LOVE, March break, may be perfect, meekness, patient, peace, penchant, profane, purge, reproof, responsibility, righteousness., sanctified, scripture, set apart, silver, sit on the fence, social media, spiritual strength, spring-like, step up to the plate, strife, sunshine, teach, technology, the circle of life, the God of peace, the grand scheme of things, the Holy Bible, the man of God, the shepherd of the sheep, the weather, those in opposition, time of need, tools, tossed out a window, truth, ungodliness, useless talk, vain babblings, vessels, walking hand in hand with Jesus, well-pleasing, wisdom, youthful lusts
2 Timothy 3:17. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.
Aye friends, how goes it this Sunday morning at the beginning of the March break, where so many people try to get away to the sunshine for a week or so?
But yuh know what? There might not be much sense in doing that this year, because the weather up here is more spring-like than winter. And it is fluctuating crazily; yesterday morning there was frost on the ground and on the cars parked outside, but by mid-afternoon the temperature was in the low to mid-teens.
And to add to all the weather fluctuations and craziness, this morning at 2 o’clock, the clocks went forward by an hour, initiating Daylight Savings Time, meaning that some people will lose an hour’s sleep, while those who are working will work an hour less. Now who all of that benefits I don’t know, but I do know that a lot of people, including me, don’t like it.
But then again, in the grand scheme of things, none of that really matters once we are walking hand in hand with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
And since it’s Sunday, it means heading for the Lord’s sanctuary to praise and worship and give thanks as one harmonious body, and receiving His awesome blessings of spiritual strength, encouragement, compassion and LOVE, so that we can keep on fighting the good fight, and also help and comfort others in their time of need. It’s all about the circle of life and LOVE friends!
And since I haven’t shared a quote in some time from our friend Anselm, who aspires to inspire us today for a better tomorrow, I’ll now share two. (smile) The first one says that ‘A habit cannot be tossed out the window; it must be coaxed down the stairs a step at a time.’
Now I do agree with that under certain circumstances, but there are some people who can only break their bad habits by throwing them out the window all at once, in other words going cold-turkey. I guess in the long run it all depends on the character of the person and the habit involved.
And the second quote from our friend Anselm declares: ‘There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.’
And that is the basic truth. We must either shut up and accept what we have, or step up to plate and do what is required to better the situation. Unfortunately though, too many of us just want to sit on the fence and complain and do nothing to solve the attendant problems, while hoping that someone else will fix them.
Now our current penchant for complaining and epidemic of inertia are two big reasons why our society is so messed up. We all want to live high on the hog but don’t want to do what it takes to accomplish that. And that’s rather unfortunate, because as children of God we have all the tools available at our disposal to function at a high level; namely God’s Word, the Holy Bible.
And as we recently saw, the verse before our Bit tells us that ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.’ (2 Tim.3:16) Now why is that eh?
So ‘That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’
So my people, we have all the tools for improving the world at our disposal, why aren’t we using them eh? We are obviously not following Bruh Paul’s advice earlier on his letter.
‘Study (be diligent) to show (present) thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (properly interpreting the Word of God). But shun profane and vain babblings (worthless talk): for they will increase unto more ungodliness.’ (2 Tim.2:15-16)
And that is exactly what’s happening in our society! This explosion of social media and its attendant technology have us involved in more useless talk and bickering than ever before.
And Bruh Paul continues: ‘But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth (clay); and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge (cleanse) himself from these (the latter), he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified (set apart), and meet (useful) for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.
Flee also youthful lusts: but follow (pursue) righteousness, faith, charity (LOVE), peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But foolish and unlearned questions (ignorant disputes) avoid, knowing that they do gender (generate) strifes. And the servant of the Lord must not strive (quarrel); but be gentle unto all men, apt (able) to teach, patient.
In meekness instructing (correcting) those that oppose themselves (who are in opposition); if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of (so that they may know) the truth; And that they may recover themselves (come to their senses) out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at (to do) his will).’ (2 Tim.2:20-26)
Oh my fellow believers, our duty is spelled out in black and white right there for us. And it’s not an easy duty, but with some diligence, some steadfastness, sincere faith and trust in God, we can all do much better than we’re currently doing. Remember the forging and growing of Jesus’ church, His LOVE Revolution is in our hands. As we go, so do His body, His influence and His saving of the world go.
And we’ll close with these immortal words of Bruh Paul from Hebrews. ‘Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect (complete) in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.’ (Heb.13:20-21)
And that’s my sincere wish for all of us today my brethren. Now let’s get ourselves together, come to our senses, and do what is necessary to bring the rest of the world back to its senses, back to God where they belong. Much LOVE!
…only as believers live godly lives…be good examples…will the world ever respond to the clarion call of Jesus…
24 Mar 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 1 John, abusing our blessings, all bets are off, allow us to earn money, be prepared, be warned, believers in Jesus Christ, blessedness, blessings, bound for glory, breath of life, burst of inspiration, cleansing light, come short of God's glory, compassion, condemn, condemnation, confession, covered with mud, crapaud smoke we pipe, deceive oneself, deny our sins, empower, empowers, encourage, eternal life, faithfully serve, fight to keep our rights, fleeting glimpse, fluctuating heart, foolishness, for we have all sinned, friends, give thanks, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, God's greatest creation, gone mad, gospel truth, gratefully appreciate our blessings, greedy enemy, handcuffed spirit, His key of infinite love, hope, hope for forgiveness, I am blessed, if we confess our sins, Jesus Christ, Jesus is coming back, joy, lack of wisdom, lesser creatures, liar, lost our minds, LOVE, lustful ways of Beelzebub, misery, New Testament, Old Testament, omipotent, omni-present, omniscient, One Year Book of Bible promises, options, our forefathers, our godly empowerment, our jobs, our Lord and Saviour, pamper, plays hooky, purify our hearts, recognize their blessings, refuse to obey, resonated, restful hours, restores joy, reverberated, Ruth Harms Calkin, safe fortress, share our good fortune, shortcomings, sinful path, sins, sit on the fence, spiritual irregularity, stand up strong, stretch spiritual muscles, taking them for granted, the birds singing, the centre of God's will, the clothes on our backs, the food on our tables, the freedom to worship Jehovah God, the fruit of our loins, the Giver of light, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the last train, the less fortunate, the Master, the prince of darkness, the righteousness of jesus Christ, the roofs over our heads, The Truant, there is therefore now no condemnation, thouroughly cleanses, time to waiver, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, to provide necessities, truths, universality of man's sin, unrighteousness, uplift, wisdom, wrongdoings
1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Oh Friends, ‘I, I am blessed! I want to tell the world, that I, I am blessed!’
Yes my people, last night in one of my late night sessions, I heard that tune by Mello G, one of my favourite reggae songs. And apparently it reverberated and resonated through my mind during those restful hours of sleep, because I got up this morning still singing it. I took that as a sure sign that I was expected to share it with you on this chilly Tuesday spring morning.
And to further solidify that theory, when I went outside just now to put out the garbage, I heard the birds singing it too. (smile) So if these lesser creatures can recognize their blessings and give thanks for them, why can’t we, God’s greatest creation eh?
So please sing the chorus with me: ‘Oh we, we are blessed! Let’s shout to the world, that we, we are blessed! Yes indeed, we are truly, truly blessed!’
Yes my brethren, if you can read these words and mentally process them, then you are indeed blessed! The roofs over our heads, the clothes on our backs, the food on our tables, the fruit of our loins, our children, the jobs we go to which allow us to earn money to provide those necessities, those all indicate that we are greatly blessed!
The freedom to worship Jehovah God, all of that shouts out blessings and blessedness my brethren! For there is a very large portion of the earth’s population who can’t say those things at all.
So please, let’s gratefully appreciate them nuh, instead of simply taking them for granted and abusing them, and learn to share our good fortune, our godly empowerment with the less fortunate, and stand up strong and fight to keep those rights that our forefathers fought so long and hard to get, but which the cruel, evil and greedy enemy now wants to take away from us!
Wow Friends! That certainly came in a sudden burst of inspiration! (smile) Now here is this touching story entitled ‘The Truant,’ from the One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin.
It says: ‘What does God do with a truant who plays hooky from her heavenly Father? What are the options? One thing is sure: He doesn’t pamper her. He knows she needs to stretch her spiritual muscles. He doesn’t shout, “Get up, foolish child!”
She’s so covered with mud she can’t move. He doesn’t condemn her, because His promise is “There is therefore now no condemnation.” In the end he does what He always does for any half-demolished child of His: He unlocks her handcuffed spirit with His key of infinite LOVE.
He checks her fluctuating heart with its spiritual irregularity. He gives her a fleeting glimpse of things as they could be. He accepts her confession. He thoroughly cleanses her, then He holds her close to His tender heart. He restores her joy and empowers her to obey.
Suddenly she knows with great gladness that her one safe fortress is the centre of her Father’s will. At least so it is with one truant child: me.’
And Friends, that story is ever so true! It’s repeated thousands of times a day by our wonderful heavenly Father! No other supposed god does anything like that. They put you through even more misery for your sins and shortcomings.
But not our wonderful God! When we confess our wrongdoings, He instead cleanses us and shows us LOVE and compassion! And yet so many of us still refuse to obey and faithfully serve Him. What foolishness, what lack of wisdom, my people!
And the Bible promise that’s quoted for that story is our Bit for today. ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’
Oh my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, those are just more beautiful truths that ought to empower and uplift us, to encourage us to keep on faithfully following our wonderful Lord and Saviour! But they obviously don’t do that for a large part of our population, who prefer to follow the sinful path of the prince of darkness.
Now listen to the verse after our Bit. ‘If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.’ (1 John 1:10) More unfortunate truths again my people!
And the scholars offer these interesting explanations on those verses. ‘1.9. This is a restatement of verse 7. We ought not to deny our sins (v.8), but rather to confess them before God. This opens the door for His forgiving and cleansing light to purify our hearts. Unrighteousness is another way of saying “sin”.
1:10. To deny one’s sinfulness (v.8) or sins is not just to deceive oneself; it is to make God a liar by denying His word. Both Old and New Testaments stress the universality of man’s sin. (e.g. Job 4:17; Ps.14:3; Is.53:6; Rom.3:10-18, 23).’
Yes Friends, that’s all gospel truth: ‘For we have all sinned, and come short of the glory of God.’ (Rom.3:23)
So, after hearing all of that, we have no good or real reason not to believe in and serve the omnipotent, omniscient, omni-present God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. None whatsoever! Unless we’ve lost our minds and literally gone mad.
Sadly though, it seems that a lot of us have succumbed to that dreaded illness, because too many of us have chosen, and are choosing to follow the worldly, lustful ways of Beelzebub, the prince of darkness, rather than the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the Master and Giver of Light and Eternal Life!
The wonderful thing about our God though, is that we can always get another chance! While there is His breath of life in our mortal and sinful bodies, there’s always hope for His forgiveness.
But please be warned, there isn’t time to waiver and sit on the fence, because Jesus is coming back in majesty and glory at any time! And when He does… all bets are off!
So please be wise and get yourselves straightened away with Him today; better yet, RIGHT NOW! That is the wisdom of the righteous! Much LOVE!
…let us be wise…be prepared…for we know not when…the last train bound for glory…will be steaming out of the station…and if we’re not on it…hn!…then crapaud smoke we pipe…