The Overwhelming Importance of Prayer in a Believer’s Life!

17 Jan 2025 Leave a comment

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

Mark 1:35.        And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary (deserted) place, and there prayed.

And finally it’s Friday! The weekend is upon us. Praise the Lord! And we send up our Friday Mantra; ‘Thank God it’s Friday!’ with loud voices, but  insincere hearts. It’s now become simply a reflex action and no longer real heartfelt thanks for the end of the work week, for too many of us only look to the weekend as a means of partying, having a good ole worldly time and not giving thought to our Creator and Provider. But friends, that’s an unwise way to live, because our God desires His time with us. He’s not against partying per se, just the debauched and licentious manner in which we do it. 

And above all, He expects us to have a reasonable amount of face time with Him. He knows that in the week we’re fairly busy and thus cannot always give Him the time He desires, but for sure on the weekend we can make whatever sacrifice might be necessary to spend more intimate time with Him. Yuh know, intimate, unhurried time with Him is all our God really desires of each of us. And when that happens on a regular basis, everything else takes care of itself.  

And there’s no better example of that than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. When He was here on earth in human form, although He was still God, He always made time to spend with the Father. Why? Because He knew that without the Father’s awesome help He could not properly manage the human activities necessary to carry out His ministry work. And there are several instances in the Bible where it shows that Jesus got away by Himself to go and spend intimate time with the Father. My favourite is this one from the gospel of Mark, where it says: ‘And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary (deserted) place, and there prayed.’ (Mark 1:35) 

Wow! How many of us even consider getting up early, or even going to bed a little later so that we can spend time with our heavenly Father and Provider eh? Not enough of us! But if Jesus the Son of God, could get up early to talk to the Father and find out His instructions for that particular day, why can’t we mere, finite, mortals do the same eh?  Because we’re too proud, lazy or whatever! But then when our lives don’t run right, we wonder what’s wrong. It’s simple friends; if we don’t have good and regular communion with the Creator of the universe, our lives will never run right. 

And we can see that happening right now throughout our entire world, only strife, chaos and disaster everywhere! Why? Because we have turned away from One True and ONLY Living God and foolishly embraced the sinful ways and pleasures of Beelzebub and his evil cronies. Do we ever remember the story of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18 and 19, where the Lord announced to Abraham His intention to destroy those cities because of their overly sinful behaviour (Gen. 18:20) and then Abraham prayed that He wouldn’t destroy them if they contained any righteous people, including his nephew Lot who lived in Sodom. (Gen. 18:23-33) 

But eventually the Lord’s will prevailed, and though Lot escaped, the cities were destroyed. Now that might be a very useful anecdote for us to remember since the sinfulness of our world is out of control, and who knows if all the natural disasters that are occurring all around the globe is not simply the Hand of God wreaking retribution for our sinful behaviour, like He did with Sodom and Gomorrah so long ago. 

I believe it would do us a whole lot of good if we’d ponder on that possibility for a while and consider changing our evil ways and returning to the God of Abrahan, Isaac and Jacob, who LOVES us with a fierce LOVE, despite our rebellious behaviour, and does not want to see us end up in hellfire with Satan, so He’s prodding us, none too gently, because we don’t take kindly to interference in what we consider our own business. I like that sentence. It reminds me of some of Bruh Paul’s. (smile) 

Ah friends, we’ve drifted away from our topic of intimate or prayer time with God, talking about how Jesus always found time to do so. And we have two other good examples of that. The first is when He fed the five thousand men with the five loaves of bread and two small fishes, and after collecting twelve baskets of left overs, sent the disciples over the lake in a ship, and the crowd away, then went up into a mountain to pray. (Mark 6:37-47) 

And how can we ever forget the night before His crucifixion, when Jesus, went into the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. (Matt. 26:36-46) In great agony of spirit, He said to Peter, James and John. ‘My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here (wait here), and watch with me. Then he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.’ (Matt. 26:38-39) 

Yes my fellow saints, Jesus bared His soul before the Father, and that’s exactly what many of us today also need to do, because we’re filled with all kinds of anxieties, fears, doubts and troubled minds and hearts, and the only way to relive that pressure is by going to God in prayer and asking for His divine help. And since now is as good a time as any to do so, let’s go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant baring our souls, asking for mercy. 

Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough…  because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. 

We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

Now, let’s not forget that we’re in this unfortunate predicament because of our sinful rebellion towards God, and only a sincere change of heart and behaviour will bring divine aid. Much LOVE!

…what’s prayer…communicating with God…talking to Him…and listening to Him…

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

Thanksgiving – A time to offer thanks, but also a time to consider our sinful ways!

11 Oct 2024 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 11:15.       He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

And then it was Friday, the day that brings us light and hope of freedom from work, albeit for a measly two days. (smile) That means the shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ rose to high heaven, especially in this good and grateful land of Canada, because this is our long Thanksgiving Weekend! Yes friends, we in the northern climes celebrate our Thanksgiving in mid-October, while those to the south of us, the U.S. celebrate theirs in November. 

And right now we’d like to remember and pray for those down there, especially in the State of Florida, who in the last couple of days have suffered the wrath of Hurricane Milton, after suffering that of Hurricane Helene a couple of weeks before. Who knows if in all the current disaster, both natural and man-made, that’s occurring all over our world, the hand of God isn’t somewhere in there giving us a warning. 

Remember all those times in the Bible where He wreaked destruction on overwhelmingly sinful and disobedient societies and nations, like Sodom and Gomorrah, and His own people Israel. And also turned away His wrath from sinful cities like Nineveh, who repented and became obedient to His will after the crying out of the prophet Jonah to them. 

So why couldn’t He be doing the same thing now, in this the most sinful state that mankind has ever been in? I don’t know the answer, but for our sakes and those of our children’s children, we’d be wise to consider it and act accordingly. For as Jesus says: ‘He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.’ (Matt. 11:15) 

And what does that mean? Listen as this commentary explains. ‘Jesus wants us to believe Him and His promises. For that kind of life, we need faith. And faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. He who has ears to hear let him hear this: We should listen to the Word of God like our life depends on it because it does, both our eternal life and our life here and now.’ 

I could not have said it any better my people. So I’m pleading with us to take the time to consider the sinful state of our lives and do like Bruh David says at the end of his famous Psalm 139. ‘Search me, O God, and know my heart: try (test) me, and know my (anxious) thoughts. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.’ (Ps. 139:23-24) And this Thanksgiving weekend is possibly the best time to consider the state of our hearts, thoughts and society my fellow Canadians. 

Anyway, it’s obvious that there will be many joyful happenings this weekend in our free and native land, not the least of which is giving thanks to Almighty God for the numerous blessings He’s bestowed on our land and our society. Oh, we are not perfect, nowhere close, but we do have one of the best societies going. The strife and dissension are not as bad as many other countries, and thankfully there’s no brawling in the streets, although recently the spectre of crime, like shootings, stabbings, carjackings and fraud has raised its ugly head and is haunting us like it hasn’t done in a long while. 

But where there is a will, there is a way, and let’s hope that together, and with God’s help, we can attack and conquer the crime spree that’s now enveloping our land. And the sad part is that most of those criminal activities are being carried out by young people, as young as 13 and 14 years old, and by many who are either out on bail, probation or parole. It’s obvious that our laws are too lax, and we have not taught them enough about God, or given them a proper sense of responsibility and the work ethic. 

Let’s remember though, that Thanksgiving is not only a time to celebrate the Lord’s goodness and mercy upon us and our land, but also a time to take stock of what we’ve done right and what we’ve done wrong and make the necessary changes, to do more right than wrong in the upcoming year. And it’s never too late to change or turn things around my people, for our God is a God of many chances… even third, fourth, fifth, six and seventh chances – as many as we need! So once we’re alive, we can never say there’s no hope. 

And there’s no better time than at the beginning of this long Thanksgiving weekend to go to God, to go confidently to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, and ask for divine help in these troubled and uncertain times. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. 

Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. 

We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

And my fellow saints, it’s all well and good to pray and ask for help, but then there must also be some change in our behaviour, if we expect to ever see divine aid. Let him who hath ears to hear…hear! Much LOVE!

…the joy of the Lord is our strength…let’s not allow Satan to rob us of it…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 October 2019 Exodus 20:3.

01 Oct 2019 Leave a comment

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

Exodus 20:3.    Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

 

Ah friends, it’s Tuesday and the ole fella is at a loss for words! Yeh, it’s true! It doesn’t happen often, (smile) but it does happen every once in a while. I guess it shows that I’m just a man with all the human frailties and weaknesses and only with God’s supernatural help can I successfully carry out all my assigned duties. I guess it’s also a good testimony for believing in a LOVING, merciful and graceful God! 

And if all of that is so, then why does Nehemiah’s prayer for his people Israel, so long ago, still resonate very loudly today in our ultra evil and oh so ungodly society eh? Listen to what Nehemiah prayed, way back then nuh: ‘We have dealt (acted) very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgements (ordinances), which thou commandedst they servant Moses.’ (Neh.1:7) 

And my people, that prayer is ever still so valid today, because it’s exactly what we’re doing, just on a larger scale than the Israelites. I think our ills are even worse than theirs, for I don’t know if they were literally trying to force God out of their society, as we are surely doing, and not just ignoring Him. 

But whatever it is, our renunciation of God is bringing us calamity, and like the Israelites, will continue to bring us calamity, until we stop it, or He just does away with us, as He’s done with so many other, greedy, foolish, prideful and arrogant societies who had the gall to deny His majesty and superiority over the universe He created. 

I simply don’t understand why we think that the Lord won’t eventually bring us to our knees like he did other ungodly people. Let’s remember that if he could send Israel, His special people, into captivity and allow their enemies to defeat them on several occasions because of their unfaithfulness, He can…and will do the same thing to us, who don’t bear a special mark like Israel did! 

Oh friends, please listen to these warning words of Moses concerning idolatry, when the Israelites were still wandering in the wilderness. ‘For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. When thou shalt begat children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves (act corruptly), and make a graven image, or the likeness of anything, and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, to provoke him to anger; 

I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it (live long in it), but shall be utterly destroyed. And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you. And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.’ (Deut.4:24-28) 

And that’s exactly what happened to the Israelites when they turned against the God of their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! And do you remember the first Commandment God gave to the Israelites, and consequently to us. ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’ What’s so difficult to understand about that eh? 

Then, as the scholars inform us: ‘Israel’s 10 northern tribes were deported in 722 B.C, by the Assyrians, and the southern tribes were taken by the Babylonians, beginning with Daniel, in 605 B.C. They were later dispersed in the days of the early church.’ So if the Lord could do that to His special people when they became unfaithful, why won’t He do it to us eh? 

No reason why not my people. Remember Sodom and Gomorrah? (Genesis 19) At the height of their depravity, sinfulness and wickedness, the Lord brought them down with fire and brimstone! And believe me, our society has gotten just as sinful, depraved and wicked, if not worse! So the writing is on the wall! 

However my people, we serve such a wonderful God; a God who keeps His promises! Listen to Moses as he continues his warning; ‘But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. 

When thou art in tribulation (distress), and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days (coming of Christ), if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient to his voice; (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.’ (Deut.4:29-31) 

Praise His holy name my people! For even when we are at our worst, He will hear and receive and revive us if we turn back to Him in all sincerity and truth! And we saw this happen with the Israelites several times. And not only with His special people, but also with places like Nineveh, when He sent Jonah to warn them and they repented. (Jon.3) So friends, there is still a window of opportunity open to us, if we take God’s promise of repentance and run with it! 

And though He’s a patient and longsuffering God, His patience and longsuffering will eventually boil over if we keep up our current ungodly and sinful behaviour. It might not be in our time, but our children’s and their children’s, if we teach them to disobey and revile and ridicule God’s pronouncements. I therefore implore us to be wise and change our evil ways, right about now, provided we want to live long in the land that God gave us. 

Now for those of us who have seen the light, let’s go home declaring (yeh!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are. In strong voice with all sincerity now: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world.  Amen!’ 

And if our hearts are true, then we will go out and do just that! Much LOVE!

…constant disobedience…will eventually bring…certain punishment…

P.S. It’s a good thing I didn’t know what to say! (smile) Much LOVE!

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 6 April 2017 2 Peter 2:2.

06 Apr 2017 Leave a comment

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

2 Peter 2:2.   And many shall follow their pernicious (destructive) ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of (blasphemed).

Aye friends, a short while ago, as I wearily arose from my comfortable bed at a late hour, I think I finally came to my Eureka moment! Hn, hn! 

Yes my brethren, on this rainy Thursday morning in the spring of 2017, I’ve finally come to the realization that the source of most of problems is simply me. What a profound realization! (smile) 

It’s all wrapped up in my inability to schedule my life within the confines and boundaries of my new physical situation. But the problem there is that I don’t seem to think that I have new boundaries to adhere to. And therein lies the rub. 

So I continue trying to play both sides against the middle, trying to light both ends of the candle at the same time. And as most of us know, that is a certain recipe for eventual disaster. 

But yuh know what? With the help of the Good Lord I’m going to fix it, because I certainly don’t want it end up disastrously. Just watch me! 

And with that promise, let’s go straight to our Bit. ‘And many shall follow their pernicious (destructive) ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of (blasphemed).’  

Yes friends, that’s a rather important topic that we cannot simply shrug aside, because it is happening all around us. The false teachers and prophets are roping in people by the dozen with their false teachings. 

In a lot of cases it’s simply a ‘feel good’ message, that doesn’t have any suffering or negative aspects. In other respects it’s a thorough denial of Jesus and all that He stands for. But whatever lie or prevarication the enemy throws at us my fellow believers, we must be able to distinguish sense from nonsense. 

And we can only do that when we know what the Word of the Lord says. Thus I again implore us to study the Good Book, so that we can have the facts at our fingertips when the enemy brings his foolishness, his blasphemous teaching to us. 

Yesterday we stopped at verse 3 in Peter’s sermon, where he mentioned the covetousness of the preachers, their deceitful words, and eventual destruction. Now let’s continue as he recounts God’s earlier retribution to the ungodly. 

‘For if God spared not the angels that sinned, (Lucifer and his foolish cronies) but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgement; and spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eight person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 

And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow (to destruction), making them an example unto those that after (afterward) should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with (oppressed by) the filthy conversation (conduct) of the wicked: 

(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed (tormented) his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgement to be punished.’ (2 Pet.2:4-9) 

Yeh friends, a lot of us seem to take God’s promise of judgement and destruction to the ungodly as mere stuff to frighten us into obedience, but believe me it is serious stuff. 

Please remember that our God doesn’t make idle promises. 

If He says He’ll do something, then you can bet your bottom dollar that He will. It just might not be when we expect it. And we have evidence that He destroyed the world in Noah’s day, and Sodom and Gomorrah in Lot’s time. So it is not mere fiction that He will destroy the ungodly. 

And believe me our world is in such an abject state of ungodliness that I won’t be surprised if the Lord chose to destroy it sometime soon. We’re living in worse times and situations than Sodom and Gomorrah, so what’s to stop Him eh? 

Anyway, listen to the scholars on those verses above. ‘2:3-9. Future universal judgement of this world is illustrated by the reference to the flood (Gr. kataklusmon, “cataclysm”) of Noah’s day which came upon the old world, that is the antediluvian world. 

The universal extent of the Flood is assumed by the author as an illustration of coming universal judgement at the end of this age. The deliverance of Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah is used to illustrate the fact that God will deliver His own from the coming universal judgement.’ 

Ah friends, the days are becoming more evil, but please don’t forget that evil and the ungodly will be severely punished in God’s own time, so it’s ever so necessary for us to stay on the straight and narrow path. Now let’s declare our Thursday Blessings which help us to stay on that tried and true path. 

With sure conviction now: ‘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!’ 

Now let’s go out and put those blessings into action nuh, for they are of no use until they are invoked over someone or something. Much LOVE!

…God’s promises will ALL be upheld…in His time…

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 June 2016 Matthew 24:4‏‏

08 Jun 2016 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 24:4.    And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

Oh my people, the ole fella’s in somewhat rough shape this morning. Yesterday was pretty busy and then my allergies really acted up on me for the first time this year. Yes my young D, despite all my boasts to the contrary, they finally got to me. (smile) 

However, our good God is still on His heavenly throne running things, so I don’t have to worry, He will bring me around eventually. 

But in the meanwhile, listen to these words of wisdom from the wall of wisdom in my study. I have several quotes and poems etc. stuck to it, but the truth is I hardly ever notice them, though I pass them everyday. 

Anyway, here’s one I shared a long time back, and now seems to be a good time to share it again. And it simply says: ‘A man who is self-reliant, positive, optimistic, and undertakes his work with the assurance of success, magnetizes his condition. He draws to himself the creative powers of the universe.’ 

And that my friends is gospel truth! Whatever attitude we adopt, or outlook we embrace, that is what is going to prevail in our lives. So if we adopt a negative, unsure, can’t do attitude, generally speaking that will be the prevailing condition in our lives. 

However, when we embrace a strong, positive, optimistic outlook, then that is what usually prevails. And since we’re true believers in Christ, there’s only one outlook that’s possible for us; the positive, optimistic one, because that is what’s found, what prevails in Jesus. 

And remember, through Him, we can do anything, because He is the one who strengthens us, gives us the courage, the wherewithal to do His will. (Phil.4:13) 

Now let’s continue embracing that positive, optimistic outlook by declaring our Wednesday Wail with complete sincerity and plenty passion. All together now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! 

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

Ah mih breddren how good it is to wake and see another day; not see your name and/or picture in the obits! We need to be ever so thankful for God’s breath of life that keeps on flowing through us, day by day, because it means He still has important things for us to do down here on planet Earth. 

But we need to keep our hands to the plough and look straight ahead to the wonderful future Jesus has in store for us. Remember Jesus’ words: ‘No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’ (Luke 9:62) 

Therefore my fellow believers, once we’ve put our hands to the plough in the service of Jesus, we cannot afford to look back. Remember when Lot and his people, while fleeing from the devastation of Sodom and Gomorrah were told not to look back, but his wife disobeyed and she was turned into a pillar of salt? (Gen.19:26) We definitely don’t want that kind of negative thing happening to us. 

Now it’s time to turn to our Bit, the wise warning of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. ‘And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.’ 

Oh friends, unfortunately there is a lot of deception in our world today, and if we don’t constantly have our wits about us, we can be deceived very easily and very often. The amount of false hood and false teachers in our world today is truly amazing, but we believers, if we stand strong in Christ and together in fellowship as Christ’s body, the church, we will be able to defeat all falsehood that comes against us. 

Listen to Bruh Paul’s other warning to the Colossians. ‘Let no man beguile (defraud) you of your reward in a voluntary humility (by delighting in false humility) and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.’ (Col.2:18) 

Yeh friends, people come along everyday preaching all sorts of stuff, that’s why we need to be very careful in what or whom we allow into our lives. Hear some explanations from the scholars on that verse. 

‘2:18. Beguile you of your reward (or, “rob you of your prize”). The heretics, if their doctrine were accepted would rob the Colossians of their spiritual blessings. These false teachers displayed false humility and advocated a gospel of worshipping of angels, that is paying homage to angelic beings. Intruding into those things which he hath not seen: The heretics claimed to have witnessed numerous revelations and visions.’ 

Oh my people, contrary to what some of us might think, the enemy is very busy trying to break through our spiritual armour and lead us astray. But we need to be ever so strong and steadfast in Jesus in these very trying times, so that we don’t lose our spiritual blessings. 

We need to continue building ourselves up in Christ-like fashion, becoming more mature in His image everyday, through prayer, fasting, reading and meditating on His Word and being in strong fellowship with other believers, while constantly wearing our spiritual armour. 

Yes precious people, in these end times, as Jesus warned, the enemy is all around us, desperately trying to defraud and deceive us into doing wrong. 

Please, let’s stand strong and steadfast in Jesus name and keep on building His LOVE Revolution, despite the enemy’s best efforts to lead us astray. That is indeed wisdom for the ages! Much LOVE!

…believers need to keep pressing on in Jesus…using all the tools He’s provided…

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 July 2014 Isaiah 61:3

01 Jul 2014 Leave a comment

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

Isaiah 61:3.       To appoint unto (console) them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. 

                                      HAPPY  BIRTHDAY  CANADA !’

Yes Friends, today is our Birthday in this fair and blessed land! One hundred and forty seven years young are we! Young by the standards of many other counties… And we still looking good too! Glory Hallelujah!

Yes my people, as I keep on saying, Canada is the BEST BIG COUNTRY IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD! Wow! So let’s try and keep it that way nuh Friends. And please note that it didn’t get to be that way by chance, but by choice! By the rule of common sense, law, diligence, hard work and trust and faith in Almighty God!

And it will only stay that way if we continue to do what’s right in the eyes of the Lord. Unfortunately though my brethren, we’re falling behind some, because we’re lowering our standards, and that’s never a good thing, because the best of anybody or anything is usually the one with the highest all-round standards.

So let’s celebrate, but at the same time take stock of what we’re doing nuh, and try to come up higher, in both civic and godly responsibility. That’s the only way we will remain at the top of the heap!

And please, please, as we celebrate this bountiful day, let’s remember Granny’s wonderful words of wisdom: ‘Sonny boy, drunk or sober, mind yuh business!’ (smile) I know it sounds clichéd, but that’s because it’s the awesome truth!

Anyway, enough preaching, (smile), here is the chorus of one of my favourite reggae, no just favourite songs, ‘Beauty for Ashes’ by Jermain Cowan. I heard it yesterday, and it so touched my heart – it does every time I hear it – I just had to share it, because the words and sentiments are so beautiful and true.

It says: ‘Beauty for ashes, In a shower of grace. Hope for tomorrow, It’s a bright and brand new day! He took away my sorrow, Put a smile on my face; Beauty for ashes, In a shower of grace.’

Oh mih breddren, mih breddren, how true that is of our great God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!

And it’s only appropriate that we should use that wonderful promise of our wonderful Deity as our Bit on this birthday of Canada. Listen to the prophet Isaiah as he declares the good tidings of salvation to Zion, prophesying of the coming of Jesus.

‘The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek (poor); he hath sent me to bind up (heal) the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all that mourn;

To appoint unto (console) them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called the trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.’ (Is.61:1-3)

Yes my people, it’s all for the Lord’s glorification! Let’s never forget that. In all we do, we ought to be thinking about glorifying our heavenly Father, for that’s one of the purposes He made us to fulfill. And if we are obedient to Him, we will enjoy innumerable blessings!

But Friends, the operative word here is ‘obedient.’ Our God is generous, LOVING, kind, merciful and all those other wonderful things, but he desires obedience of His people in return. And that sadly is why we are now experiencing our current state of ashes.

In the last couple of generations, obedience to Almighty God has simply gone by the wayside, but yet, foolishly, we still expect Him to bless us abundantly and be oh so merciful to us. Steups! That’s a fool’s wisdom my people!

Yuh see what He did to Sodom and Gomorrah, in whose footsteps our current world order is now marching? So what else but destruction can we expect if we continue along that pathway of disobedience eh? Too many of us take the serious pronouncements of the Bible as a joke, or old time stuff that no longer applies.

But Friends, I’m here to tell us that God doesn’t joke with, or in His Word, neither does He ever change. What He says stays the same forever. He is a God of justice and righteousness first and foremost!

And there is no better example of that than His sending His only son Jesus to die as a sacrifice for our abominable sins. He could just as easily have pardoned our sins, but because of His just and righteous nature, a price had to be actually paid for it, otherwise He would have forfeited that just and righteous acclamation.

So Friends, please don’t listen to all the crap the world’s throwing at us, for our continual disobedience to God will cause a hefty and significant price to be paid at some time or other. The Good Book doesn’t lie, and there are oodles of examples of nations and societies that rose to glory on the shoulders of God, then conveniently forgot Him when they became strong, but subsequently perished as a result of their disobedience.

Now let’s go home with some pleasant and thankful words from Bruh David, from Psalm 30 – A thanksgiving for deliverance from death. ‘Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. I cried to thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication.

What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit (grave)? Shall the dust praise thee? Shall it declare thy truth? Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord, be thou my helper. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth (the sackcloth of my mourning), and girded me with gladness; To the end that my glory (soul) may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.’ (Ps.30:7-12)

Yes Friends, let’s go forth and stop being silent! Instead, let’s sing the Lord’s continuous praise, as we walk in continual obedience to His everlasting will. There can be no higher wisdom than that! Much LOVE!

…as Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) likes to say…the best way to live this earthly life…is to simply obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him…and that’s gospel truth my people…

P.S. Friends, it’s long and late, but what else can you expect on this Canada Day eh? (smile). It’s good though!