23 Nov 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a LOVING Father, a pleasure to know God intimately, and now abideth faith hope love, assurance of God's love, Bible, born of God, Christ died for us, christianity, damnation, deepen my breath, dissenters, eternal separation, faith, give men for thee, God commendeth his own love toward us, God is LOVE, God so loved the world, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, he that loveth not knoweth not God, heal broken bones, heaven, hell, hellfire, herein is love, holy spirit, increase my awareness of you, infinite patience, intimacy with god, Jesus Christ, know you all the more, lazing around, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, lead you to the abundant life, LOVE, LOVE is of God, loved thee with an everlasting love, mercy, no force more powerful than God's love, not reciprocated the Lord's love, not that we loved God but that he loved us, people for thy life, precious in my sight, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, salvation, set free those held captive by sin, sleeping in, slow my thoughts, stop the roaring seas, thank you for this tenderness, the depth of God's love, the faith journey starts, the greatest of these is love, the Holy One of Israel, the Lord's love song, the propitiation for our sins, truth, unceasing neareness, walk in faith, while we were yet sinners, whosoever beleives in him should not persih, wisdom
1 John 4:8. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE.
And now we’ve come to Saturday; our lazy-day Saturday, where most of us can do as we please, with little or no restrictions on time or effort. (smile) And it’s another damp and cloudy day, so that makes it even better for sleeping in and lazing around. I can’t complain either, because I did manage to get in a li’l lazy time despite the aches and pains crying out to get up and get some movement going in the ole body. But what else is new eh? (smile)
Anyway, let’s get to our most important matter right now, our Lazy-Day Saturday prayer. Please pray with me: ‘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!’
And what a pleasure it is to know our Creator and Provider more intimately! There’s nothing like it in this world! Why? Because God created us for the express purpose of having intimacy with Him; a creation for Him to LOVE, and who would LOVE Him in return. And we see God’s LOVE highlighted all the way through His Word, with explicit scriptures like this: ‘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.’ (John 3:16)
Then there’s this: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrates) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8) Yes, instead of waiting for us to change, God’s LOVE was so great towards us that He just couldn’t wait any longer for us to turn ourselves around. And what about this scripture from the prophet Jeremiah? ‘The Lord hath appeared of old (from afar) unto me, saying, Yea, I have LOVED thee with an everlasting LOVE: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.’ (Jer. 31:3) And as the scholars explain: ‘God’s LOVE for His people is accompanied by infinite patience.’
Yes, my fellow believers, God’s LOVE for His most important creation is unconditional, unending and unmistakable! And what about these most endearing words from the prophet Isaiah? ‘For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee (in thy place). Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable (honoured), and I have LOVED thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.’ (Is. 43:3-4)
That’s how much the Lord LOVED the people of Israel, and consequently all those who believe, trust and have faith in His Son Jesus Christ. Oh friends, the Bible is in fact the Lord’s LOVE song to us! All through it we see His LOVE rearing up on behalf of His people, especially in tough times. And John got it ever so right in his epistle. Just listen to this treatise on God’s LOVE nuh!
‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE. In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:7-11)
Oh my people, it could not be put any clearer or more straightforward than that! Unfortunately though, we have not reciprocated the Lord’s LOVE like we ought to. Instead, we’ve turned away from Him to other gods and man-made idols. Made Him so unimportant in our lives, that we’re even trying to eradicate Him from our society. But we know that will NEVER happen, for our God is the ONLY omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present Being in existence, and we cannot even make one move unless He allows it. And He will definitely not allow anyone else to take over the universe He so LOVINGLY created.
And because of His great LOVE for us and our stubborn, foolish and hardhearted, behaviour towards Him, He’s created a sanctuary for those who are wise and desire to have sincere communion with Him. It’s a place called heaven, where those who put their trust in His Son Jesus Christ will spend eternity enjoying the good and abundant life. However, for those who do not desire sincere communication with God, there’s another place called HELL, where those dissenters will spend eternity separated from Him. And if we’re wise, we’ll choose the first option, because the second is going to be pure hellfire and damnation!
Oh friends, God LOVES us because He simply LOVES us. As John says, God is LOVE, and thus can do nothing else but LOVE! And we’ll close today with this excerpt from an article on the subject of God’s LOVE found on the bible studytools.com website, which I believe very nicely explains it.
It says: ‘God absolutely LOVES you. It’s hard to get our minds around, but it is true. This is where the faith journey starts: understanding that God LOVES you. If you do not have an assurance of God’s LOVE, your faith journey will not last long. Fortunately, reading the Bible can help to strengthen your faith in God’s LOVE. There is no force more powerful than the LOVE our heavenly Father has for us, His children. His LOVE can move mountains, stop the roaring seas, heal broken bones and wounded hearts, transform lives, and set free those held captive by sin and shame. So great is his LOVE for you and me that he sent his only Son to die that we might live through him.
God is not an angry taskmaster who shows affection only when you succeed. He is a LOVING Father who will always LOVE you no matter what. Take time to receive the depth of his LOVE for you today. Allow his LOVE to heal you, transform you, free you, and lead you to the abundant life he has always longed to give. Read, meditate, and pray over these Bible verses about God’s LOVE as you walk in faith today.’
Oh my fellow saints, I certainly could not put it any better than that! So please, let’s do what it says nuh, get deep into God’s Word and understand just how much He really LOVES us! That’s wisdom to the nth degree! Much LOVE!
…and now abideth faith, hope and LOVE…but the greatest of these is…LOVE… (1 Cor, 13:13)
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
19 Mar 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brother is born for adversity, a Christian tenet, a friend loveth at all times, aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow, better it is not to vow, Christians face challenges, doing double duty, fake friends are like shadows, go the extra mile, go twain with them, God commendeth his own love toward us, I have finished my course, I have fought a good fight, I have kept the faith, if ye love me keep my commandments, leve bears all things love believes all things, love does not envy or boast, love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, love endures all things, love hopes all things, love is not arrogant or rude, love is not irritable or resentful, love is patient and kind, love rejoices with truth, love with no strings attached, promises are made to be broken, prove the naysayers wrong, proves our loyalty to human authority, proves the spiritual intention of our heart, selfish tendencies, sleeping in, tentacles of fraud, the christian doctrine of keeping our promises, the light of the world, the salt of the earth, the strong-minded rise to challenges, the weak-minded become haters, thou should vow and not pay, true friends are like stars, unconditional LOVE, unquenchable love, while we were yet sinners christ died for us, whosoever shall compel the to go a mile
Romans 5:8. But God commendeth (demonstrated) his (own) LOVE towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
It’s a rainy Saturday morning, most excellent for sleeping in, which I must confess that I did. (smile) Unfortunately, when one is getting on in age, it becomes much harder to burn the candle at both ends, meaning to achieve early rising with a late bedtime. But nonetheless, I’m still working to prove the naysayers wrong. (smile) Anyway, without further ado, that’s more talk, let’s turn to our usual Saturday program, that of checking out the quotes that our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
And the first quote relates quite nicely to our Christian situation. It says: ‘Don’t ever promise more than you can deliver, but always deliver more than you promise.’ Yes friends, that’s a Christian tenet that should be ingrained in all of us. However, since promises nowadays don’t hold the weight they once held, we don’t pay as much attention to them as we ought to. Currently, the prominent thought on promises is that they are made to be broken. No longer do we keep our word, as best as possible, and if we can’t, then notify the promisee of our inability to do so.
Sadly, broken promises litter our world today like no other time in history. And why is that? Because there is so little accountability on promises, and thus, to achieve our own selfish ends, we very often make promises we know we can’t keep. Oh, hifalutin promises do look and sound good, and better yet, because of the greedy and selfish tendencies now proliferating in our society, they tend to inveigle others to believe and agree to even the most outlandish promises. That’s why broken promises, or the many tentacles of fraud are spread so wide and deep in today’s society.
But all of that is a total repudiation of the Christian doctrine of keeping our promises. Cousin Sol, writing as the preacher in Ecclesiastes, puts it quite clearly. ‘Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.’ (Eccl. 3:5) Yes my Christian brethren, it’s always better not to promise than to make promises we know we can’t keep. And it’s even better when we can deliver more than we promised, like Jesus says regarding LOVE for enemies in the Sermon on the Mount. ‘And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain (two). ‘(Matt. 5:41).
The scholars offer this explanation. ‘In ancient times government agents were able to compel forced service upon a subjugated people. A Roman soldier, for example, could compel a Jewish native to carry his armour or materials for one mile. Jesus now states that if someone compels you to walk a mile, go with him twain. The believer is to be willing to “go the extra mile.” Doing double our duty not only proves our loyalty to human authority, but likewise proves the spiritual intention of our heart.’ And I can hear many of us laughing at that crazy notion, since today we don’t even want to do our basic duty, much less double!
That takes us to the next quote which also has some strong Christian content. ‘The strong-minded rise to the challenge of their goals and dreams. The weak-minded become haters.’ That’s oh so true! Strong -willed people, which Christians ought to be, always rise to the occasion. They face challenges rather than run from them. And that’s what Christ is asking of those who consider themselves His followers. As He said. ‘If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments.’ (John 14:15) That’s simple enough to understand.
And we know what Christ’s dream is for us; in a few words, to be the salt of the earth and light of the world. To stand up strong against the enemy and spread His gospel, the good news of His free gift of salvation. As Bruh Paul encouraged Timothy: ‘Thou therefore endure hardness (hardship), as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.’ (2 Tim. 2:3) That also pertains to us my brethren, especially in these rough and tumble times, when our world is turned upside down, and many of us don’t know our A from our E. (smile)
No, we cannot be weak minded or fearful, because that only leads to negative stuff like insecurity, resentment, anger and strife. It’s absolutely necessary that we do like Bruh Paul said: ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race), I have kept the faith.’ (2 Tim. 4:7) Oh my fellow saints, that should be our goal: to fight the good fight in Jesus’ name, to show forth His glorious kingdom to the unbelievers by the way we live, with LOVE and compassion for others, filled with the peace and joy, only found in Christ!
That’s why these next two quotes should be important in our lives. The first one says: ‘Spend your time with those who LOVE you unconditionally, not with those who only LOVE you under certain conditions.’ That’s the gospel truth! For nowadays we tend to LOVE others only under certain conditions. If they behave in certain ways, or do things we approve of. But that’s not how God LOVES us, or Jesus teaches us to LOVE each other. The Good Book tells us: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrated) his (own) LOVE towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8)
Oh friends, that means God didn’t wait for us to become saints before He LOVED us, but showed His unconditional LOVE by allowing Christ to die for us despite our sinful condition. Now shouldn’t we show the same kind of LOVE to those around us, with no strings attached, and even though our expectations are not met? Of course! It’s not easy, because that’s how our selfish sinful nature operates. But with the true Spirit of Jesus working in and with us, we can certainly move on to higher ground, a more Christ-like kind of LOVE.
And these words from Bruh Paul to the church at Corinth contain possibly the best explanation of unconditional, Christ-like LOVE. ‘LOVE is patient and kind; LOVE does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. LOVE bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.’ (1 Cor. 13:4-7)
And it’s only when we come to that kind of understanding, can we become what this last quote declares. ‘Fake friends are like shadows: always near you at your brightest moments, but nowhere to be seen at your darkest hour. True friends are like stars, you don’t always see them but they are always there.’ Now we all know that to be the truth of all truths, because we have all experienced the betrayal and disappointment of fake friends. People who abandon you when troubles come, or your situation changes, and you can no longer give them what they need.
Unfortunately, our world today is filled with many more fake than true friendships. Oftentimes too, what we call friendships are in truth mere acquaintances. For as Cousin Sol so wisely says in Proverbs: ‘A friend LOVETH at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.’ (Prov. 17:17) Or as the scholars explain: ‘A true friend has unquenchable LOVE that is not diminished by adversity.’ Now that’s the kind of stuff Jesus expects from us as His followers, His earthly agents and ambassadors. Please, let’s not disappoint Him more than we have already done nuh. Much LOVE!
…by definition…Christians…are true friends…filled with unconditional LOVE…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
09 Oct 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a burning desire to do things, a Christ-like difference, accept the things I cannot change, all great changes are preceded by chaos, bored with life, bring others to the knowledge of Christ, burning with passion, chaos, Christians step up and take control, climate change, divisive and strife filled, economic misfortune, elbow grease, evil and ungodly times, get understanding, get wisdom, getting out of hand, God sent not His Son to condemn the world, grant me the serenity, heavenly blessings, Jesus turned the world right side up, led by the Holy Spirit, LOVE, lust for dictatorial power, out of your comfort zone, poverty, racial differences, see a light at the end of the tunnel, see possibilities before they become obvious, sleeping in, step up to the plate, the church of Christ, the courage to change the things I can, the greed of the rich, the Serenity Prayer, the wisdom to know the difference, the world through him might be saved, when the dust settles, wisdom and understanding, wisdom is the principal thing, without hungering and thirsting after anything
John 3:17. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Oh, what a perfect Saturday morning for sleeping in, at least in my area! We are talking about dark skies on a fairly warm morning for this time of year, and a lulling, drizzle of heavenly blessings. But here I am up early, working. Chuh! That’s because I went to bed early this morning, that’s early by my standards. (smile)
Anyway, it’s no use griping about it now, because I’m already up and at ‘em. So, like we do every Saturday, let’s check out the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week. I pray the Lord will give me the wisdom and understanding to do a good job on them, because it’s all for His glory.
This first one says: ‘All great changes are preceded by chaos.’ Now I don’t know if it’s absolutely true, but there is a fair amount of truth to it. Just look at all the great changes forced upon the world by the numerous wars and strife that’s happened down through the ages.
Look at what’s happening right now. Chaos is in our midst, with serious differences over the cause and effect of the Covid 19 pandemic, the strife that’s been injected over the vaccine, the lust for dictatorial power that’s currently running rampant, the greed of the rich, who are getting insanely richer while the world is beset by numerous natural and man-made disasters, poverty and economic misfortune, climate change, racial differences etc. etc. There’s no doubt that when the dust settles, our society will be significantly changed… but who knows how.
And let’s not forget the chaos and great changes made by the coming of our Lord and Saviour two thousand years ago. Jesus turned His then Jewish society upside down and the world right side up! Remember what He said: ‘For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:17) And the world has never been the same since He came…neither will it be, after He comes again! (smile)
The second quote tells us that: ‘If you are bored with life, if you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things—you don’t have enough goals.’ I don’t know about not having enough goals nuh, but rather of having the wrong goals. For if you even have one goal of sufficient interest and importance to you, then that will have you getting up every morning burning with passion to fulfill it. What’s the point of having goals that aren’t actively cultivating your interest? None whatsoever!
The problem with today’s society, why we are so easily bored, is that life’s just too easy for too many of us. There are so many amenities now that we can easily get by without hungering and thirsting after anything, so serious goal setting is not as important as it used to be back when things were harder.
A real goal is something that calls for elbow grease, for getting out of your comfort zone, that causes you to see a light at the far end of the tunnel and drives you towards it. But since so many of us are averse to working hard, or working at all, who wants to do that eh? Consequently, when we do set goals, they are often of the easy, lacklustre kind and obviously don’t fire us up.
And that’s where this next quote comes in: ‘Dreams are extremely important. You can’t do it unless you can imagine it.’ Yes friends, our dreams, the things we would like to acquire or do, are extremely important, and they are the things that should usually become our goals, because they will inspire us to get up and get a move on. And the second part of the quote does have some truth to it.
Generally speaking, you must be able to imagine something before you can do it. You don’t always need to see the finished product, but there must be ideas about whatever you want to accomplish continually buzzing about in your head. Otherwise, you won’t have the necessary incentive to keep working on it.
That’s why the following quote is important. ‘The future belongs to people who see possibilities before they become obvious.’ No doubt about that friends. You just have to look around at all the amazing inventions in our current world to see it. They were created by those who were thinking ahead. They had an idea, a dream, a goal, to make something better, or do something differently, and they kept working at it, despite numerous failures, until they succeeded. A good example of that is the vast and tentacle-like network of social media we have nowadays. Some people saw the possibilities and took advantage of their opportunities. That’s what it takes to be successful in this world.
And the same thing goes for believers in Christ Jesus. We also need to be forward thinking; seriously gauging possibilities and seeking opportunities to bring others to the knowledge of Christ. That’s our job as His earthly messengers and ambassadors. So don’t think for one moment that Christians don’t also need dreams, goals and successful operations in Jesus’ name. We just have to do them within His framework; that of His holy word.
His church is His big organization here on earth. But how is that working eh? Not as good as it ought to. It cannot, with all the divisions, disunity, strife, anger and evil that’s currently going on in it. And one would think that in these terrible times, the church of Christ would take the obvious opportunity to be a calming, settling and uniting force, working to bring peace, LOVE and the Spirit of Jesus to the situation. But unfortunately, it is just as divisive and strife filled as the rest of the world.
What can we as individuals do eh? Not a whole lot, except sincerely show Christ to those around us and pray. And what we call our Serenity Prayer is the last of our quotes for today. So, let’s pray it nuh. ‘God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.’
Yes my fellow saints, that’s why Cousin Sol advises us through the Good Book that: ‘Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding,’ (Prov. 4:7) It’s absolutely imperative that in in these dangerous, evil and ungodly times that the children of God seek His wisdom and learn what we need to do, by studying His word, talking to Him, and being led by His Holy Spirit.
This is an opportunity for all true believers to step up to the plate and make a real good and Christ-like difference in the lives of others and in our scarred and scared world. That’s what Jesus is expecting of us. So please, let’s not disappoint Him nuh. Much LOVE!
…when things are getting out of hand…that’s when Christians step up and take control…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
27 Mar 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a pinnacle of work and productivity, abundant life, allow our voices to be heard, artificial intelligence, ask and it shall be given to you, aspires to inspire us, atrophy, be afraid of change, change for change sake, change is necessary, change your direction, Christ is always with us, Christian beliefs, even to our last breath, filled with a heavenly perspective, for a better tomorrow, grocery shopping, have it more abundantly, household chores, I am come that they might have life, knock and it shall be opened, letting the fruit of the Spirit blossom, lose the ability to use our faculties, may contain our salvation, most responsive to change, not all change is good, our friend Anselm, risk disappointment, seek and you shall find, sleeping in, social media, stand up strong for Jesus, stay in our comfort zone, the best things are the hardest to do, the changes we dread most, the indwelling of the Holy spirit, the thief cometh but to steal, we can't run from life
John 10:10b. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
So it’s finally Saturday, and we’re either sleeping in, getting ready to do piled up household chores, or getting ready to go out and do the grocery shopping that we also couldn’t do during the work week. But whatever it is we’re doing, even if it’s just nothing, please remember that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is always right there with us, leading, guiding, encouraging and LOVING us, through the indwelling power of His amazing Holy Spirit!
And for that, we ought to be eternally grateful, because no other faith is guaranteed what we Christians have: the LOVE, mercy and grace of Jesus, that brings forgiveness of sins, and eventually leads to eternal life in heaven with Him. We indeed have the best of all worlds! So let’s give sincere thanks and do our best to walk holy as we go about His business today nuh, so that others can see Christ in us and be encouraged to come to Him, because that’s what He desires of us, His ambassadors, His agents, His foot soldiers! And all God’s children said ‘Amen!’
Now let’s look at the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And the first one says: ‘If you do not change direction, you might end up where you are heading.’ Yes friends, you can be pretty sure that if you don’t veer away from your current direction, you will end up where it’s leading. For you certainly can’t be going in one particular direction and expect to end up other than where it’s headed.
Consequently, this next quote puts it all into the proper perspective. ‘We can’t be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea.’ And that’s the gospel truth! Too many of us prefer to stay in our comfort zone rather than step out of it and risk disappointment or trouble. But trouble and disappointment can, and will find you wherever you are. That’s for sure.
The problem with staying securely in your comfort zone is that you will never really see the beauty and treasures that life really holds. That’s because life only opens up to those who truly seek it, who step out and look for it. Remember what Jesus said: ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.’ (Matt. 7:7) Yes my people, that’s also what life expects of us; to come seeking it. All its beauty and treasures won’t just drop in your lap if you stay safe and comfortable. The same thing goes for our Christian beliefs; we have to step out and show others Christ in us.
And that brings us to this next quote: ‘The changes we dread most may contain our salvation.’ Now that’s no lie my brethren! Ofttimes, the change(s) we are most afraid of are the ones which hold the best end result for us. But that’s just life; the best things are usually the hardest to do and achieve. For whatever reason, life just doesn’t do easy as much as we would like it to. So we can’t run from it, if we want to enjoy it. We have to join the fray; get involved, handle whatever comes against us with a good attitude, with God’s help obviously.
It’s the only way to live the abundant life that Christ says He came and died for us to have. And if you don’t believe me, listen to Him tell it. ‘The thief (that’s Satan) cometh not but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10) And that abundant life is one filled with a heavenly perspective, trusting and surrendering to Jesus, walking in the Spirit, and letting its fruit blossom forth in our lives as we journey on to heaven and eternal life. And we can only do that if we are not afraid of change.
So we move on to the next quote that says: ‘It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.’ And that’s true to a great extent since life changes whether we want it to or not. For example, we grow older and more infirm every day, although we don’t want to. (smile) But the ones who handle aging the best are those who realize the predicament and make the necessary changes so that they can still be productive. You eat as healthily as possible, get as much exercise as possible, pray and show LOVE as much as possible.
Now that doesn’t mean we must change just for change’s sake. And that’s why I have an issue with our last quote. ‘We must be impatient for change. Let us remember that our voice is a precious gift and we must use it.’ I thoroughly disagree with the first statement. We should not be impatient for change, because all change is not necessarily good or timely change. And that’s one of the major problems in our world right now: everybody’s hollering for change! But look at all the problems that change has caused us in the last little while nuh, especially with the worldwide explosion of social media, where so much negative stuff is now being disseminated.
Change is good to the extent that it improves our lives, and that does not mean making us fat or fatter and lazier, as has been the case in the last few years. We have so many helpmates nowadays, that we end up doing very little for ourselves, and that’s no good for the species, for as the saying goes, ‘if you don’t use, it you’re going to lose it.’ And that’s exactly what’s been happening to the human race. We haven’t been using all of our faculties and bodies, thus we are steadily losing the ability to function without all of our helpmates.
And with the hasty pursuit of A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) we’ll soon lose even more, as we are required to do even less. You can see it already in platforms like what’s app, where after a few messages, they can almost write one for you. So, soon, we won’t even have to think any more, the machines will be doing it for us. And what do you think will happen to our minds and brains eh? They’ll simply atrophy. We’ll lose the ability to use them. Now is that what we desire for our species? Certainly not!
Too much easy life is no good. That’s why societies fall into disarray and ruin, after having reached a pinnacle of work and productivity. Then they just sit on their fannies and enjoy the good life. But if everyone does that, the society crumbles. Life is strange that way. We work hard to rise to the heights, and when we get there, thinking there’s nothing left to achieve, we just allow it to fall apart.
But that’s not what Jesus expects of his people, of His church my brethren! Our voices are precious, and He expects us to use them to be productive on His behalf right to the very end, even to our last breath, encouraging others to come to Him. So please my fellow believers, let’s stand up strong for Jesus nuh! Let’s allow our voices to be heard loud and clear for what we believe in, and don’t pursue change just for the sake of change. It’s not good for our species, or what God desires for us. Much LOVE!
…change is necessary…but not all change is good…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
19 Oct 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: after the Spirit, all things are become new, Anselm's quotes, cannot please God, carnal mind, carnally minded, challeneged, Christ's lifestyle, compromising, dangerous charade, death, dictators, enmity against God, evil web we weave, except a man be born again, fallen nature, Federal Elections, fool yuh fat, glowing promises, godly principles, he cannot see, he is a new creature, holy spirit, if any man be in Christ, kindergarten, life, LOVE, morally new, more opposition, Nicodemus, no condemnation, nothing happens, old things are passed away, omnibus bills, overrules, peace, politicians, politics, practice to deceive, raison d'etre, reneging on their promises, righteous Christians, Saturday, see the light of day, sleeping in, social media platforms, socio-economic ladder, spin and more spin, spirtually minded, the kingdom of God, the larger the change, the love of power, the more resistance, the power of love, the world will know peace, to change ourselves, unless something is moved, walk not after the flesh
2 Corinthians 5:17. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
‘Sleeping in, sleeping in…that’s what we do on a Saturday morning!’ Yeh people, that’s why so many of us like Saturdays; no getting up early and rushing off to work, we can sleep in and laze away the whole day if we so desire…unless we have young children to look after, or lot’s of house work to do. (smile) But however you take it, Saturday belongs to us! Praise the Lord!
We also need to take a look at the quotes our friend Anselm sent us, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Hear this first one: ‘Nothing happens unless something is moved.’ And I believe that’s fairly true. If everything stays the same, nothing much will happen. However if something is moved, it’s liable to stir up stuff, either desirable or undesirable.
That leads us to this next quote: ‘The larger the change, the more people will resist it. Thus, make it seem so tiny and trivial that people don’t even realize it.’ And I guess we would all agree on the first part; the bigger and more invasive the change, the more opposition one will get, although one will get some opposition to any change at all, big or small.
And as to the second half, I’m not sure that a serious change can be made so small that people won’t even notice it. That’s because serious change usually comes in big packages, and you do notice big packages. I’d say, if the change is worthwhile, then the size of the package doesn’t really matter.
Although the norm nowadays is for politicians to hide important changes in large omnibus bills covering many things, hoping that you won’t have the time or energy to dig and delve into them that much. Oh the crooked, tangled and evil web we weave, when we practice to deceive! But that’s the politician’s raison d’etre; spin, spin, and more spin!
For example, this Monday is our Federal Election here in Canada and the four political parties involved are making all sorts of glowing promises, but the sad reality is that when one of them gets in power, none, or very little of what they promised will ever see the light of day. And don’t fool yuh fat, they will have some reason that sounds plausible for reneging on their promises.
But let’s move on the next quote, since there’s nothing much we can do about the politicians right now. On a point of interest though, we advocate putting up righteous Christians for election, but most righteous Christians don’t want to become embroiled in the serious and dangerous charade that is politics. And many of those who do get involved, end up compromising their godly principles in the hothouse that is modern politics.
And that’s a good lead in to the next quote: ‘The day the power of LOVE overrules the LOVE of power; the world will know peace.’ Oh how true that is my brethren! The LOVE of power is so prevalent these days, that it’s seen from the top of the socio-economic ladder, where all the leaders now want to be defacto dictators, right down to the bottom, where things like bullying and advantage taking have become serious problems on social media platforms and even in places like kindergarten.
That’s how far the LOVE of power has eclipsed the power of LOVE! And the way things are going, I doubt we’ll see a reversal until Christ comes back and sets up His eternal kingdom. Now here is the last quote, which says:‘When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.’
That’s for sure my people! In a whole lot of situations, the only change that’s possible is ours. We see that in our Christian life all the time. And there’s no better example than when we receive Christ as our Lord and Saviour. As Bruh Paul says in 2 Corinthians: ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’
Yeh friends, once we accept Christ, we can’t be the same old sinful people that we once were. We have to become new people, morally new and different, change ourselves with the help of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said it to Nicodemus in so many words. ‘Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ (John 3:3) That means change is expected, a new beginning has to be made, for Christ’s lifestyle does not mesh with that of the world.
And that lifestyle is simply described by Bruh Paul in his message to the church at Rome. ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.’ (Rom.8:1) Yeh friends, our new lifestyle in Jesus should be walking in the leading and guiding of His Holy Spirit, not that of the flesh.
‘For they that are after the flesh do mind (set their minds on) the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.’ (Rom.8:5-8)
So let’s spend some time pondering that today nuh; whether we are still walking in the flesh, or in the Spirit, and ask the Lord to help us, for the world and it’s sinful ways still offer powerful attractions to our fallen nature. Much LOVE!
…to be in Christ…one must become a new person…
04 May 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accept yourself, anointed us, Anselm, aspires to inspire, be grateful for what you have, be the reason someone smiles, believes in goodness of people, bounden duty, complicate our lives, debt, disappointment, face the rigours of the day, friend, fulfilling our destiny, Gentiles, God anointed, God is LOVE, God was with him, goes against the grain, greater is he that's in you, healing, in god's eyes, Jesus Christ, jesus of nazareth, keep moving forward, Lord and Saviour, Love thy neighbour as thyself, love yourself, no better example, oppressed of the devil, Peter, raison d'etre, sleeping in, soaring, someone feels loved, stress, than he that's in the world, the Holy Ghost, the wild blue yonder, this society, unnecessary baggage, went about doing good, with power
Acts 10:38. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
Aye mih people, the ole fella took the liberty of sleeping in some this morning. Oh, we were actually up earlier on, but then we, my triune self and I; soul, body and spirit, decided that we were not well rested enough to face the rigours of the day, so we voted unanimously to go back to bed! (smile) I’m sure many of you know how that is.
But an hour and a half later, I’m still not sure that we’re properly rested. However, being the good souls that we are, we’re up and about the Lord’s business. So the Bit will be late, later than it ought to be, because even then I took some time to catch up on some of the trending news on the computer. But so what? It’s Saturday, the day to unwind and relax! (smile)
And just in case any of you are interested, it is wet and gloomy in my area. But that seems to have become the norm these days, so not to worry, because as true believers in Jesus Christ, we still have the greatest power in the universe dwelling in our hearts, souls bodies and minds! We talking about the Holy Spirit of Christ; that amazing and oh so powerful Being that dwells within us and leads and guides us on the pathways to righteousness!
Glory be my precious people! And it’s so wonderful and reassuring to know, as the Good Book says, that ‘Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.’ (1 John 4:4) And that’s gospel truth friends! The Holy Spirit is indeed greater than the evil one who rules this evil and ungodly world, so please don’t forget it, and even more importantly, please act like it!
And since it’s Saturday, let’s see what quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Hear this first one: ‘People tend to complicate their own lives, as if living weren’t already complicated enough.’ And that’s ever so true friends! In these modern times with so much stuff available to us, we tend to complicate our lives so much more than we ought to. Life was ever so simple in our parent’s generation when they didn’t have so much to complicate it.
And this next quote is also filled with truth: ‘Live the Life of Your Dreams: Be brave enough to live the life of your dreams according to your vision and purpose instead of the expectations and opinions of others.’ Oh we do have to take the expectations of some people near and dear to us into consideration, but in general, we should be living our dreams, our lives, not those of others.
The Lord has a plan for each and every life He creates, (Jer.29:11) so it’s our duty to seek out that plan, and then live it to the best of our ability, with His awesome help of course! Too often we allow others to interfere with our lives and dreams, and then we end up not fulfilling our destiny. And that is always a mighty disappointment, both in God’s eyes, and our own!
And this next one is also excellent advice: ‘Accept yourself, LOVE yourself, and keep moving forward. If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down.’ The first part is biblical. John says: ‘He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE!’ (1 John 4:8)
And the Lord instructed Moses to tell the people of Israel: ‘thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.’ (Lev.19:18b). So accepting and LOVING yourself should be the norm, and if you want to fly, then logically, you need to dispose of any unnecessary baggage, because too much weight stops one from soaring into the wild, blue yonder.
Then there is this: ‘Be grateful for what you already have while you pursue your goals. If you aren’t grateful for what you already have, what makes you think you would be happy with more.’ Now that goes against the very grain of this society, where wanting more is a way of life. Appreciation of the stuff, or being grateful for it is not important, just having more stuff seems to be the reason for living for too many of us.
Our society has become too greedy and unappreciative. And the sad part is that most of the stuff we accumulate just sits around gathering dust, because like children who get fed up playing with the same toy, we always want something new, preferably the latest and the greatest, which just leads us into more debt and eventually more stress, when we can’t pay the debt.
All of us have plenty stuff that we thought we needed, but now just sits collecting dust and deteriorating in some unknown part of our homes. Yes friends, more stuff doesn’t really satisfy the soul, it just leads it further astray. It’s oftimes better to be satisfied with a little, or whatever you have, and work diligently towards what you really want, not what you think you want.
And the last quote tells us: ‘Be the reason someone smiles. Be the reason someone feels LOVED and believes in the goodness in people!’ Oh isn’t that beautiful friends! It surely is, because it’s our raison d’etre; yes my fellow believers, that’s our very reason for being! That’s what we were born to do! It’s a part of God’s plan for every human body He creates; doing good, putting a smile on people’s faces, letting them know that they are LOVED both by God and their fellow man!
Mama Mia! When we do that, we’re following the greatest example ever, that of Jesus Christ. For as Peter said when he preached to the Gentiles: ‘How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.’
Oh my people, the same thing goes for us: the Lord has also anointed us as His special children and placed the Holy Ghost in us, so that we too can go out and help others, do good to all and sundry! That’s our bounden duty! So please let’s get with it nuh, let’s do what is expected of us by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!
…as true believers…we can follow no better example…than that of our Leader…Jesus Christ…
06 Apr 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a hudredfold, advantageous, adversity, Anselm, Apollos watered, aspire to inspire us, born rich or poor, bounden duty, brought forth fruit, catches the juiciest worms, clothed with God's armour, control over, damnation, early bird, eternity, fell on good ground, fight for it, figurative seeds, glory to God, God gave the increase, good cheer, good fruit, harvesting, have life abundantly, hell fire, I am come, in good soil, in the world, it's best shot, Jesus lives and reigns in us, make hay while the sun shines, mind and body, on holidays, peace, people's hearts, planting seeds, pull up our brithches, reap a harvest, religion, seeds, sixtyfold, sleeping in, sowing, stand, the harvest is plenteous, the joy of the Lord, the labourers are few, thirtyfold, tribulation, vicissitudes of life, your strength
Matthew 13:8-9. But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
‘Hello…Hello in there! Anybody home?’ Hn! Like nobody wake up yet, everybody sleeping in this Saturday morning – everybody except the ole fella. I’ve been up since minutes to six, doing my own thing, even though I went to bed fairly late.
Chuh! I don’t like this thing that developing here nuh; going to bed late and getting up early, especially when I’m supposed to be on holidays! But one can’t do a lot if the body decides that it has had enough sleep. Might as well get up and make hay while the sun shines, or be like the early bird that catches the juiciest worms! (smile)
But enough with the clichés, is Saturday morning so let’s see what quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And we have a full slate – and they long too. (smile)
Check out this first one: ‘LIFE – is a four-letter word that is complicated enough that no one will ever decode its true meaning. Whether you were born into a wealthy family or a poor one, your life will be full of ups and downs. The goal in life is to minimize the down’s and live a happy and inspiring existence.’
And that’s certainly true! Whether we born rich or poor, we all have to face the vicissitudes of this crazy life; ups and downs, of sickness, financial problems, relationship problems, etc. etc. We all face adversity in this life, and the only way to be able to truly handle it is by being in a good relationship with Jesus!
Remember what He 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) Glory be my people! So though the world throws it’s best shot at us, we can always be peaceful because Jesus lives and reigns in us! Give Him much thanks and praise nuh!
Then there’s this one that fits in nicely with the first: ‘The only thing that you have control over is your mind and your body. Everything else is decided by a bunch of people and external conditions. If you are truly happy, no one else can snatch it from you.’
Again, there’s a lot of truth in that statement! We can only control what’s in our personal universe, namely our minds and bodies. But once we have serious control of them, nobody can take away our joy, especially if it’s based in Jesus, for the joy of the Lord is our strength! (Neh.8:10) Yes friends, when we are joyful in the Lord, nobody or nothing can take away that inner peace and contentment. More thanks to Christ again!
Now hear this: ‘When you were a baby, you had to cry to get what you want. If you didn’t, your parents probably thought you didn’t want it. The same applies when you grow up, the world doesn’t just hand you what you want unless you ask and fight for it.’ So true my faithful brethren! The world takes pleasure in beating us down, and if we allow it, it will beat us down to the death!
Yeh, the world is an advantageous entity, that knows no mercy! That’s why we have to stand up and fight, especially as true believers in Christ, because the world wants to beat down believers more than anybody else, since we go against its sinful and evil nature! No wonder Bruh Paul warned the Ephesians to ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil…and having done all, to stand.’ (Eph.611, 13b)
Yes my people, only when we are fully clothed with God’s armour, can we resist, rebuke and beat down the enemy, who’s greatest wish is to destroy us. So please try and stay fully armoured at all times! (smile)
So, considering all that we’ve already said, then this next quote makes a lot of sense. ‘You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough. — Why live a long and unhappy life?’ Good question! Especially in light of Jesus’ immortal words: ‘The thief cometh not, but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it abundantly.’ (John 10:10)
Yes friends, Jesus came to give us life, abundant life, both here on earth and throughout eternity with Him in heaven, so why spoil it eh, when we have such a good thing going eh? No reason whatsoever…unless we mental! (smile) And yes, I know some of us are mental enough to throw away, or not accept all that Jesus offers, but that’s not you or me! Glory to God!
And then we come to this last quote: ‘Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.’ Now that’s something we believers are not very good at. We expect to reap a harvest as soon as we done sow a seed…and a big harvest at that. But as Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) likes to say: ‘You reap what you sow, more than you sow and later than you sow!’ And that’s gospel truth!
Moreover, the process of sowing and harvesting is a time thing; not now for now, like we want it to be! The seeds we sow, be they real or figurative seeds need time to germinate, to take root and grow. That process doesn’t happen overnight, and all of us know it from our association with the planting of seed in the soil and waiting for it to grow, so we can reap a harvest.
The same applies to any figurative seed we sow in people’s hearts; it takes time to grow, and we should not be too concerned about how much harvest those seeds will produce, but rather about how many seeds we plant in Jesus’ name! And also about if the seeds that we plant are good, and the type of soil that we plant them in, for all of that has a bearing on the kind of harvest we’ll eventually reap.
Remember Jesus’ words in the parable of the sower. (Matt.13:1-9) The sower sowed plenty seed, but they all fell on different kinds of soil and produced different amounts of harvest – even no harvest at all, because the soil they fell in wasn’t conducive to producing fruit. ‘But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’
Yes friends, it’s ever so important that we sow the seed of Jesus amongst the many lost of this world, but we also need to find the good soil and then water and nurture the seed so that it can grow good fruit. For as Jesus also said to His disciples: ‘The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few.’ (Matt.9:37)
No doubt about it friends, there are many more unbelievers out there than believers, and it’s our bounden duty to harvest them before Jesus comes back, else they will be lost to hell fire and damnation for all eternity! And that’s not a very nice place to be. So let’s pull up our britches and go out and be more serious and concerned about planting seeds in good soil nuh, rather than the harvest those seeds are likely to bear. The Lord will reward us for the harvest later on. Much LOVE!
…I have planted…Apollos watered…but God gave the increase… (1 Cor.3:6)
16 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a calm mind, a sustained basis, adjust my sails, Anself, aspire to inspire, awesome truth, be of good cheer, bearing about in the body, boosting health, calmness of mind, cast down, change the direction of the wind, change the things I can, compassions, Corinth, distressed, encouragement, eternal life, faithfulness, friend, gospel truth, hardships, i have overcome the world, in me ye might find peace, in the world, inner strength, Jesus, let not your heart be troubled, live and die with Him. resurrected, loving-kindness, made manifest in our body, mano a mano, muscles, neither be afraid, never refuse, new every day, not as the world gives, not destroyed, not forsaken, not in despair, not to surrender, peace, perplexed, persecuted, personal experience, promise, relationship with Jesus, roses, Saturday, self-confidence, sincere plea, sleeping in, stability, strength, sunshine, the courage, the dying of the Lord Jesus, the life also of Jesus, the Serenity Prayer, the serenity to accept, the things I cannot change, the wisdom, to know the difference, trainer, tribulation, troubled on every side, troublesome times, turbulent, unsettled world, weightlifting, winning, wise advice, wise decisions
John 16:33. 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.
Aye friends, I thought Saturday was a day for sleeping in? Then how come I’m not still in bed eh? I woke up around six and thought, no, this is way too early to get up. But the Lord or the enemy seem to have different ideas, so I rolled around in the bed until six thirty, finally realizing that I’d lost the fight to go back to sleep. But them’s the breaks! Just means that you will get the Bit a li’l earlier. (smile)
And since today is Saturday, let’s get to some of our friend Anselm’s quotes of the week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Here is the first one: ‘A calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence, so that’s very important for good health.’ You can’t dispute that friends! Calmness of mind is ever so important for making wise decisions as well as boosting health; physical, emotional and mental!
But then to get that on a regular basis you need to be a follower of Jesus, who is the ONLY person able to give you true peace and stability on a sustained basis. Hear His awesome promise: ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27) You can’t beat that my faithful brethren!
And then we have: ‘With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.’ More awesome truth my brethren! But again, the rightness of the strength and thoughts depends on our relationship with Jesus, for as the Good Book notes; Because of His great faithfulness, His mercies, His LOVING-kindness, His compassions are new every morning! (Lam.3:22-23) So if we’re not in a strong relationship with Jesus, those early morning, every day new strength and thoughts might not be so good.
Then there is this interesting quote: ‘I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.’ And technically speaking, I suppose that’s usually true, but let me tell you people, if the Lord is in that wind, and wants you to go to a particular place, you can adjust your sails as much as you want, but the only place you’ll end up is where the Lord wants you to.
That I can tell you from personal experience, and I’m sure many of you have experienced the same thing! In the long run, it’s all about where the Lord wants us.
And our friend Anselm threw in the Serenity Prayer for good measure this week: ‘God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.’ And friends, in this turbulent and unsettled world, do we ever need to prayer that pray every day…sometimes several times a day… if we wish to retain our sanity and make good, godly decisions.
And the last quote says: ‘Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.’ And that’s the gospel truth!
Winning doesn’t provide strength, it only makes one lazier than normal, and content to sit on one’s rear end without any get up and go. You get like Rome and all those other big, splendiferous countries that fell to ruin because they became too fat and flaccid from always winning.
The truth is that constant winning eventually ruins you instead of making you stronger. However, when you struggle, when you fight hardships mano a mano, then you develop strength! It’s just like lifting weights; you can’t develop muscles without constant weightlifting.
Likewise, you can’t develop real inner strength without going through hardship and struggles.
And we all know that this evil, ungodly world ruled by the evil enemy certainly is filled with much hardship and struggle, so you will have trials and tribulation cropping up from time to time.
However friends, when you walk with Jesus, which is also not an easy thing to do in this world, He will help and guide you through those suffocating and troublesome times. He’ll be like your weight trainer; always beside you, offering encouragement and wise advice, even helping you lift the heavy weights that you find difficult lifting on your own!
Wow! What a wonderful friend and helpmate is our Jesus! There’s NO other like Him in ALL the universe! Give Him much deserved thanks and praise my people!
And Jesus said it in no uncertain terms: ‘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.’
Ah friends, I know that will be difficult for us to do, but if we believe in Jesus and His promises, then we can do it. Jesus didn’t take an easy step on this earth, and He never promised that it would be all sunshine and roses for us either. But He did say that if we stuck with Him, He will bring us out safely.
Now listen to these tough but encouraging words from Bruh Paul to the church at Corinth. ‘We are troubled (hard pressed) on every side, yet not distressed (crushed); we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken, cast (struck) down, but not destroyed: Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.’ (2 Cor.4:8-10)
Yes my people, even though we suffer much tribulation, we WILL NOT give up, because we have the ultimate promise of Jesus, that if we live and die with Him, we will indeed be resurrected to eternal life, like He was! And you can’t beat that promise in this universe! Much LOVE!
…when troubles come…the wise thing to do…ask Jesus to help you handle them…He’ll NEVER refuse your sincere plea…
26 Jan 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a future and a hope, adversities, adversity, all things work together for good, Anselm, ashamed of failing, aspire to inspire, audacity, be glad and rejoice, be of good cheer, boldfaceness, building blocks, called to His work, Christian faith, considered my trouble, correlation, couch potatoe, curl up, defeat, double minded, faint, fall for everything, friend, have peace, heartbreak, household chores, known my soul, learn from our mistakes, LOVE, maturity, no better school, no giving up, overcome the world, praying hands, read a book, Saturday, security, sense of purpose, sleeping in, stand for something, stand up for Jesus, technological do-dads, test of endurance, the day of adversity, the fire, the flood, those who LOVE God, thy mercies, thy strength is small, tribulation, troubles, try, try again, until you succeed, walk through, where the sun doesn't shine, wishy-washy
Psalm 31:7. I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities (troubles).
‘Saturday, oh Saturday; day of not getting up early, of sleeping in, of lying on the couch like a couch potatoe and just letting the world pass me by…Oh how I LOVE thee! Let me count the ways…’ (smile) Yeh friends, Saturday is one of our friendliest days in this busy modern universe, although for some it’s rougher than having to get up and go to work because they have all the household chores to do that have been put off during the week.
And no, I did not sleep in, I’ve been down here for a while fighting with my computer, it wanting to do its own thing and not my will, then having the audacity to freeze up on me. Oh the boldfaceness of these technological do-dads eh! But it makes me smile, because that’s just the way we behave with our heavenly Father; audaciously wanting to do our will and not His. And when He steps on us, we quick to cry foul. Hn! Hn! But that’s His prerogative as our Maker and Controller.
And since it’s Saturday, let’s look at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, in his noble attempt to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And this first one answers a question that many of ask: “Why am I as I am? To understand that of any person, his whole life, from Birth must be reviewed. All of our experiences fuse into our personality. Everything that ever happened to us is an ingredient.”
Yeh friends, we can’t disconnect ourselves from anything that has ever happened to us, because they all come together to make us who we are. And then there’s this: ‘Read absolutely everything you get your hands on because you’ll never know where you’ll get an idea from….’ Holy smokes! Reading! What is that eh? Our children don’t know the a from b about that!
Neither do some of us big people. It’s only the nonsense found on the tube and texting the mindless new language that’s developed for these technological toys! One friend sent me an e-mail yesterday with some symbols that seemed to tell me to stick whatever it was where the sun doesn’t shine, only to find out that they meant praying hands. (smile)
Ah mih people, reading is the best form of quiet recreation, and it also opens up your mind to so many other things and places. And as for me, you can’t be a writer unless you read. There’s nothing like curling up with a good book and just getting lost in it. Even if it’s an electronic one! (smile)
And we all know this one: ‘If you don’t stand for something you fall for everything.’ How true that is! Being wishy-washy, double-minded and that sort of thing only makes our lives bounce insecurely from one thing to another, with no steadfastness on the horizon. That’s why as Christians, we are encouraged, and admonished to STAND UP for Jesus, because then we have security and sense of purpose!
And that segues very nicely into this next quote: ‘Children have a lesson adults should learn, to not be ashamed of failing, but to get up and try again. Most of us adults are so afraid, so cautious, so ‘safe,’ and therefore so shrinking and rigid and afraid that it is why so many humans fail. Most middle-aged adults have resigned themselves to failure.’ And that’s no lie! But please remember the old saying: ‘try, try again…until you succeed.’ And as believers in Jesus Christ that should be one of the top priorities in our lives, because in Jesus’ kingdom there is NO GIVING UP!
And though we won’t like this last quote that complements the others very well, it’s very true: ‘There is no better school than that of adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time.’
Ah mih people, it’s only in adversity that we grow and hopefully learn from our mistakes. So although many of us are going through some rough times now, please remember they are building blocks for our future, they are the experiences as we said above that make us who we are, and lead us to a future and a hope as the Lord promised. (Jer.29:11) And also that ALL things work together for good to those who LOVE God and are called to do His work. (Rom.8:28)
That means whatever we’re going through has a definite meaning and correlation to the plan that the Lord has in mind for us and there’s no need to run from or bemoan too much the adversities that come against us, for the Lord would not have allowed them if they were going to damage us. Remember He said that when we walk through the fire or the flood, He would always be with us. (Is.43:2)
And since many of us have been walking with God for sometime we must have seen the goodness of His hand on our lives, more than once too, thus we ought to be able to say like Bruh David does in our Bit: ‘I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities (troubles).’
Yeh friends, when we can say that in our times of trouble then we know that our faith is strong. For as Cousin Sol so truthfully and plainly says: ‘If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.’ (Prov.24:10) And the scholars tell us: ’24:10. Strength in the face of adversity is the true test of one’s endurance.’ And in terms of our Christian faith and maturity, that is oh so true.
And yes, it is not easy to be strong when troubles strike, but we also have that most faithful and true promise of Jesus to hold on to. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) Now friends, as supposedly true believers in Christ, if we can’t rest in, and on that promise…then I don’t know what else to say nuh. Much LOVE!
…adversity brings out the best…in true believers…
24 Nov 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a dark side, a light side, against His will, Anselm, aspires to inspire us, attached to someone, ballyhooed idea, basic premise, being a believer in Jesus, believe something, call us home, caught out in the dark, certain death, choose which way, Christ hath made us free, conduit to freedom, control the minds, controlling tentacles, entangled again, eternal life, faithful believers, fake criticism, forever young, forgiveness, free, free choice, free indeed, freedom, friend, gift of God, glimmer, grace, gravitate to the light, His sinless life, in my thoughts, jealous, Jesus, Jesus will return, late night parties, live our lives, make you free, mercy, most powerful entity, my body, my spirit, no critics, no success, on the aged side, paid for all our sins, peace with Jesus, prince of darkness, quotes, right now, sacrificed, separate peace from freedom, set us free, sinners, sleeping in, stand fast, thanks and praise, the day nor the hour, the evil one, the liberty, the Light, the Lord God Almighty, the masses, the media, the SON, the Truth, the wages of sin is death, the Way, the yoke of bondage, time to turn it around, undeserving children of men, unmerited favour, wisdom, wisest decision, work miracles, youth
John 8:36. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Oh friends, it’s Saturday; the day of late sleeping in and of late night parties! Mama Yo! That’s my kind of day! As you can see I’ve availed myself of the first, but doubt I’ll do so for the latter. (smile) Anyway, I do hope you youngsters can avail yourself of both, like I did in my youth.
Come to think of it…that youth now seems like it was a long long time ago, a mere glimmer in my thoughts. And you don’t need to rub it in and tell me that yes, my youth was a long time ago, because no one knows that better than me. (smile) And though my body might be a bit on the aged side, my spirit will remain forever young, thanks be to our great God! Give Him thanks and praise my people, for His wonderful grace, mercy and forgiveness to the undeserving children of men!
And since it’s Saturday, let’s look at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, in his noble effort to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Hear this first one: ‘If you have no critics you’ll likely have no success.’ And that’s basically true, because there are so many people out there who will be jealous of your success that they will find even the smallest and most fake criticism, to try and disrupt your success.
So if you’re seeking success in this evil world, then make sure you’re ready for and up to criticism. And the more success you have, the harsher the criticism will usually be.
And the nest quote says: ‘Humans have a light side and a dark side, and it’s up to us to choose which way we’re going to live our lives. Even if you start out on the dark side, it doesn’t mean you have to continue your journey that way. You always have time to turn it around.’ Now the basic premise of the statement is true; we do have dark and light sides, and we can turn them either way, the problem though is the last sentence, concerning time to turn them around.
Please friends, please note that we don’t ALWAYS have time to turn our lives around, for none of us knows the day nor the hour that Jesus will call us home, or return to earth a second time, and once that happens all bets are over. So I would suggest that if we’re living on the dark side, that we gravitate to the LIGHT, which is Jesus, RIGHT NOW, to avoid getting caught out in the dark.
For as I keep saying, that’s the worst thing that can ever happen to a human soul; forced to endure eternity in the dark with the prince of darkness, the evil one, and not in the light with Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Light!
And then there’s this: ‘The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.’ Now in a sense that’s true, since the media does spread its controlling tentacles far, wide and deep.
But have no doubt of this my faithful believers; the Lord God Almighty IS, and always will be, the mightiest power on this earth, His Creation, which He controls with an iron fist. Have you ever seen the media work miracles in your lives? Have they provided food, clothing and shelter when you so badly needed them? But the Lord God has done it all…and more!
The Lord can make us believe anything He wants us to by merely thinking it. But for some reason, in His ultimate wisdom, He gave us free choice, which allows us to go against His will. The media can’t do that. So although they are powerful, they ARE NOT, the most powerful entity on earth! Matter fixed!
Now the next quote says: ‘You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.’ And that’s definitely not true! We can have peace with and in Jesus though we are enslaved! Freedom is a much ballyhooed idea that has caused more problems in this world than anything else, and we still are not free, because it seems impossible to be truly free.
We always need to believe something, or become attached to something or someone, which controls our minds and behaviour, thereby making us not free. But friends, the greatest amount of freedom one can have is by being a believer in Jesus Christ. For as our Bit says: ‘If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.’
Oh friends, please be wise and listen to Jesus nuh. He came to earth and sacrificed His sinless life to set us free from the certain death we were heading towards as sinners. As the Good Book wisely declares: ‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom.6:23)
And the scholars explain: ‘6:23. Wages: Emphasizes what we deserve. Gift of God: Emphasizes God’s unmerited favour.’ So my brethren, yuh see the great difference between what we deserve and what we can achieve through Jesus! Glory Be!
And Bruh Paul puts it this way to the Galatians: ‘Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.’ (Gal.5:1) Yes friends, Christ through His death on the cross paid for ALL of our sins, but you need to believe in Him, before you can be set free, for He is the ONLY conduit to that freedom; the greatest and most important freedom in God’s universe.
Please accept Him in your hearts, minds, souls and bodies today. It will be the wisest decision you have ever made. Much LOVE!
…only in Christ…can a human being enjoy true freedom…freedom from worry…freedom from want…freedom from death…
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