The Indescribable Jesus!

24 Sep 2024 Leave a comment

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   24 September 2024   John 3:17.

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.

Well it’s another wet and cloudy day in my area, but it’s Tuesday, a new day, which means an expectation of new and good things. Thus the uplifting acclamation: ‘Something good is going to happen TO me today; something good is going to happen THROUGH me today!’ And that ought really to be the basis of our daily thinking; always expecting good things to happen to and through us, all in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. 

So what if our dreams and expectations are sometimes thwarted and bad things happen every so often eh? That’s just life in our sinful and ungodly world. However, we do have Jesus to help us handle all those bad things, if we put our never-ending faith and trust in Him. Life won’t always be lollipops and roses, as some of us naive Christians believe, but with Jesus in our corner, we can survive and beat anything that comes against us. And unless we sincerely believe that and practice it in our daily lives, we’ll be forever finding life miserable and unrewarding. End of Sermon! (smile) 

Now, last night while going through some papers on one of my desks, I discovered something that I didn’t even know I had, it was some notes by one Dr. S.M. Lockridge, I don’t remember where I got it from or when, but after reading it, I just knew I had to share it with you today. But before we do that, I just googled Dr. S.M. Lockridge and came up with this fantastic information. His real name is Shadrach Meshach Lockridge (1913-2000). 

Wow! Like he was meant for ministry from his birth. And he did end up being the Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, a prominent African-American congregation in San Diego, California, from 1953 to 1993, and was well-known for his preaching across the United States and around the world. And what a wonderful fount of information our computers can be if used for good, because I just came across the full text of what I was going to partly share. It all comes from Dr. Lockridge’s sermon on the subject, ‘He is My King.’ 

So let’s listen to someone who really knew Jesus as His King. “He’s enduringly strong, He’s entirely sincere, He’s eternally steadfast. He’s immortally graceful. He’s imperially powerful. He’s impartially merciful. He’s God’s Son. He’s a sinner’s Saviour. He’s the centerpiece of civilization. He stands alone in Himself. He’s unparalleled. He’s unprecedented. He’s supreme. He’s preeminent. He’s the loftiest idea in literature. He’s the highest idea in philosophy. He’s the fundamental truth in theology. 

He’s the miracle of the age. He’s the only one able to supply all of our needs simultaneously. He supplies strength for the weak. He’s available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He guards and He guides. He heals the sick, He cleans the lepers. He forgives sinners, He discharges debtors, He delivers captives, He defends the feeble, He blesses the young, He serves the unfortunate, He regards the aged, He rewards the diligent, He beautifies the meek. Do you know Him? 

Well, my king is the king of knowledge, He’s the well-spring of wisdom, He’s the doorway of deliverance, He’s the pathway of peace, He’s the roadway of righteousness, He’s the highway of holiness He’s the gateway of glory, He’s the master of the mighty, He’s the captain of the conquerors, He’s the head of the heroes, He’s the leader of the legislators, He’s the overseer of the overcomers, He’s the governor of governors, He’s the prince of princes, He’s the king of Kings and the Lord of Lords. 

His life is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Well. I wish I could describe Him to you. But He’s indescribable. Yes. He’s incomprehensible. He’s invincible, He’s irresistible. I’m trying to tell you, the Heavens cannot contain Him, let alone a man explain Him. You can’t get Him out of your mind. You can’t get Him off of your hands. You can’t outlive Him, and you can’t live without Him. 

Well. The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but they found out they couldn’t stop Him. Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him. Herod couldn’t kill Him. Death couldn’t handle Him and the grave couldn’t hold Him. That’s my king! He always has been, and He always will be. I’m talking about He [who] had no predecessor and He [who] has no successor. There was nobody before Him and there will be nobody after Him. You can’t impeach Him, and He’s not going to resign. 

We try to get prestige and honor and glory to ourselves, but the glory is all His. Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, and ever, and ever, and ever. How long is that? And ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and when you get through with all of the forevers, then ‘Amen’.” “Oh I wish I could describe him to you.” 

Mama oh Mama! What a wonderful description of what Jesus is, was, and will forever be! And you can only encapsulate that by saying, Jesus is our EVERYTHING! Our BE ALL and END ALL! Without Him, we’re nothing, and with Him, we’re everything! Yes friends, that’s the kind of mighty God and king we serve and worship! And until we truly come to grips with what a magnificent Deity we are a part of, our lives will remain unfulfilled. 

And having read that most worthwhile description of all that Jesus is by Dr. Lockridge, all I can do now is to quote this scripture passage on what Jesus said re His earthly purpose. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.’ (John 3:16-18) 

Oh my fellow believers, Jesus could not have stated His purpose for coming to earth any clearer than that. So please, let’s be wise and believe nuh, so that we won’t be condemned! Now let’s go home declaring (chuh!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. 

As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’ 

And having made that awesome declaration (yesss!!!) we now are duty bound to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…Jesus…Jesus…Jesus…Jesus…Jesus…Jesus…He is the answer to our every prayer…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   16 April 2024 Psalm 118:24.

16 Apr 2024 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 118:24.       This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Then it was Tuesday, and another uncomfortable, disturbing Monday has been flung into the dustbin of History! There’s also no doubt that spring has seriously sprung now! Yes! We had some good showers in the mornings over the weekend, but by afternoon the sun had come out strong and vibrant, actually spreading some warmth, and yesterday was a particularly beautiful spring day, despite it being Monday. (smile) Today is supposed to be another of those beautiful days with temps in the high teens. 

So let’s be grateful and thank our great God for all the blessings He’s bestowing on us, by gratefully declaring (yesss!!!): ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps. 118:24) And while we’re at it, why don’t we declare a few more very useful acclamations, like: ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ (Phil. 4:13) And what about this most useful one: ‘If God be for me, who can be against me? NOBODY!’ (Rom. 8:31) 

Then there’s this non scriptural acclamation, but every bit as true: ‘Friends show their LOVE in times of trouble, not in happiness.’ (Euripides) And that’s the gospel truth! Oh how much better our world would be if supposed friends would show up in times of trouble and help, instead of running away like scared chickens! Next up is this wonderful acclamation first proclaimed by Joshua. ‘As for me and my house, we WILL follow the Lord; that’s for sure!’ (Josh. 24:15) 

Now what about this gem: ‘And the God of all grace, who has called me to his eternal glory in Christ after I have suffered a little while, will Himself restore me and make me strong, firm and steadfast. Glory to God!’ (1 Pet. 5:10) Now that one is a bit long and somewhat tough to master both in memory and deed, but if we can ever get it right in our hearts and souls, our lives will be much better attuned to the vagaries and eccentricities of this world, because we’ll know without a doubt, that whatever comes against us is only for a time, and that our great God, will, in His time, restore us to the fullness of life in Christ Jesus. 

Unfortunately though, a lot of people turn up their noses at acclamations, but that’s just the foolishness of man, because when we acclaim the scriptures or anything that is good and true, we reinforce the goodness and strength of God within ourselves, so when tragedy or trouble strike, we have enough confidence in our system to allow us to handle it with a good, Christ-like attitude. Finally, there’s this acclamation that sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say: ‘Something good is going to happen TO me today! Something good is going to happen THROUGH me today!’ 

And that’s exactly how it ought to be my brethren! Good things happen to us, and good things happen through us, for that’s the will of God. He delights in working through His wonderful followers. That’s why Jesus kept telling us to LOVE each other, for LOVE is of God. And if we’re showing true, brotherly LOVE to one another, then we’re behaving like God, and that’s what it’s all about…behaving like Christ as much as possible. And with our world in a sad and sorry state of strife, war, greed, hunger, poverty, sickness and natural disasters, we desperately need Christians to step up to the plate and be the salt of the earth and light of the world that Jesus expects us to be. 

Oh my fellow believers, no one else is going to change our disastrous world if we don’t. Please, let’s understand that. Change, or rather positive and productive change will only come if we supposed Christians get up off of our lazy, comfortable, entitled fannies and do the work necessary to bring about positive change. We’ve got to stop the plentiful talking for which we’re so famous, and instead become serious and sincere action figures, who are getting things done, like Christ desires! 

It’s sad to see our world degenerating, deteriorating more and more with each passing day. For every day we hear about a new theatre of strife, and none of the old ones are closed, as well as starvation and sickness somewhere else in our world of plenty. What’s wrong with us eh? And the sad part is that many of our leaders who are promulgating the negative stuff claim to be believers in Christ Jesus, to be Christians. But how can we reconcile their warlike and evil actions with a supposed Christian nature eh? No way! 

The trouble also stems from the fact that too many of us believers claim we can’t do anything about the worldwide situation, and that might be true to a certain extent, but what about electing true God-fearing leaders eh? And what about the negative situations right in our own neighbourhoods? Now don’t tell me that there aren’t any, because there are oodles of fixable problems in each and every neighbourhood, which Christians could be helping to alleviate, if we so desire, and thus making our little part of the world better. But, with our sad attitude of indifference, we all sit and wait for someone else to fix the problems. 

However, what did some wise someone once say. If we want peace, let it begin with me. Yes friends, anything we truly desire has to begin with us! We each have to develop the habits of movers and shakers in our own areas, if we ever expect to see positive change. And we don’t have to start with big changes, small ones will do. For as my Jamaican people tell us: one one cocoa full basket. And it certainly does. Each small change we make builds up in number, till we have a full basket of them. 

So please my fellow saints, let’s get up and get a move on nuh, let’s start taking back our beautiful world from the evil doers, who are just bent on destroying it, and sending both it and us down to Hades with the evil one. And that’s not an acceptable option. But it’s only if we wake up and start smelling the roses, will it ever change. End of Sermon. (smile) Now let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock stock and barrel. 

As one sincere voice: ‘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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’ 

And having made that proclamation, we are now bound to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with those we meet, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…whether it’s in peace or war…actions always speak louder than words…and Christians are action oriented people…

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ