The Overwhelming Importance of Christians Being Continually Refilled by the Holy Spirit

15 Sep 2025 Leave a comment

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

Ephesians 5:18.         And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Holy Spirit.

It’s Monday once again my people, time to get up and get going out into the world to do the Lord’s work! Let’s hope that we’re all refreshed and renewed with His Holy Spirit so that we can do good, efficient, excellent work on this sunshiny summer’s day. It’s like Bruh Paul wrote to the Ephesians: ‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ (Eph. 5:18).

And what does that mean? According to the scholars, ‘that basically means we’re not to get drunk on alcoholic beverages, because it leads to drunkenness and excessive behaviour causing moral intemperance, which is clearly contrary to God’s will. God’s will is that Christians be filled with (by) the Holy Spirit; that is, they are to allow Him to fill them with God’s own life, character and virtues. The analogy between these two moral states is this: a person filled with wine is under its influence; similarly, a Christian is filled with the Spirit when He (the Spirit) controls his thoughts.’

And I like how this commentary explains the situation. It says: ‘To be refilled with the Holy Spirit means to be continually yielded to God’s control and power, a state of ongoing submission and obedience to His will, rather than a one-time event. It is an intentional, active, and daily choice by believers to allow the Holy Spirit to empower them to live a victorious and fruitful Christian life by obeying God’s Word, committing to prayer and fellowship, and trusting in God’s sovereignty.’

Yes friends, being refilled with the Holy Spirit is not a one-time thing, but a continual filling, a repeated experience for believers. Where we actively submit our will to God’s control, thus ‘making a conscious decision to live under His constant direction and power, leading to a transformed character and priorities.’ And Bruh Paul, as is his wont, goes on to give us some practical advice on how to achieve those desires in real life.

He writes: ‘Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph. 5:19-21) What a great passage of scripture that is my brethren!

And the scholars break it down thus: ‘There are four results of being Spirit-filled. (1) believers speak to one another with psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs; that is, they exhort and instruct each other; (2) there is singing and the making of melody, of individual song and praise for the Lord; (3) there is giving thanks always – the Spirit enables the Christian to be grateful for all things divinely allowed to enter his life since they will be used for good; (4) there is mutual submission, that is, showing deference to the wishes of one another, as long as that to which the believer submits is in the fear of God, which is to say, in accord with what pleases Him.’ 

Then there’s an interesting addendum that the scholars add to their explanation, which says: ‘Because people are indwelt by the Holy Spirit at salvation, they do not need to get more of the Holy Spirit, but the filling of the Spirit occurs when the Holy Spirit gets more of the believer.’ Wow! That sounds right. Technically speaking, we already have the Holy Spirit dwelling with us, so we can’t get any more of it in the sense of receiving it, but instead we need to give more of ourselves to the Holy Spirit, that’s listening to Him more, so that He can lead, guide and comfort us in the manner our heavenly Father desires.

And all that practical advice that Bruh Paul gives back there can only be successfully accomplished if we have the fruit of the Spirit flourishing in us. And what’s the fruit of the Spirit? Bruh Paul explained it thus to the Galatians. ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE (the willing sacrificial giving of oneself for the benefit of another without thought of return), joy (gladness of heart), peace (tranquility of mind, freeing one from worry and fear), longsuffering (patience with others).

Gentleness is kindness. Goodness is generosity. Faith here is dependability. Meekness is gentleness, that is, courtesy and consideration in one’s relations with others. Temperance is self-control, that is the ability to harness and control one’s passions and lusts.  (Gal. 5:22-23) And that’s the nine fruit of the Spirit (singular), unlike the gifts of the Spirit (plural).  And for this fruit to develop, all nine aspects must mature. In other words, we won’t grow spiritually unless all the fruit is maturing and growing. 

And having said all those things, it’s time now to go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn seeking divine aid to put them into effect. (smile) Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And as we can see from our prayer certain things are necessary before we can receive divine aid; like humbling ourselves, praying, sincerely seeking God’s face and turning from our evil ways. So please, let’s concentrate on improving in those areas nuh, so that divine aid can begin flowing down to us. Remember, it’s all for our benefit!! Much LOVE!

…the Christian believer…is expected to bear much fruit…from seed planted and nourished by the Holy Spirit… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   12 November 2021 Matthew 6:12.

12 Nov 2021 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 6:12.      And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And then there was shouting and singing of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! Thank God this brutal workweek almost done! The weekend is upon us and the time to party finally come!’ Ah Lord eh! How we do like our parties. Wish we could even give a small percentage of the time we think about partying to thinking about God. Our lives would be so much better all around. 

And it’s not like we can’t party in and with the Lord, because we can. Like all of us, the Lord likes a good party, but one that honours Him, in ways that glorify and proclaim His holiness and righteousness, not the leggo-beast parties that the world seems to value so much. Remember the numerous feasts that the Israelites were commanded to have in olden times. Well, likewise we could also have numerous occasions to sing and praise and glorify our great and wonderful God. 

Like Bruh Paul told the Ephesians. ‘See then that ye walk circumspectly (carefully), not as fools, but as wise. Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph. 5:15-21). 

Yes friends, that’s how believers ought to behave in their daily lives. Making melody to God in our hearts, while walking circumspectly and wise amongst the evil and ungodly world in which we live, not being licentious and dissipated and ungodly like so many of us tend to be. Please remember that God sees all that we do, both in public and private, and also reads the motives of our hearts, so it’s foolish to claim to be a believer and then living so much like the world. We might fool our peers, but not the Lord. 

As Granny always warned: ‘Sonny boy, please remember, that drunk or sober, always to mind yuh business.’  But, unfortunately, in this crazy and evil world, too many of us supposed believers are not minding our business like we should, not minding our p’s and q’s, crossing our t’s and dotting our i’s. And that’s a big part of why our world is so depraved and ungodly; Christians are not doing their part; we are not standing up to the heathen as we should. We are placidly accepting whatever the world offers when we know to do better. 

And not only is our stance against the world not good enough, but our help, edification and encouragement to each other is not worthwhile either. Instead of building up our fellow saints we are ever so quick to pull them down. We forget that one of the building blocks of our faith is helping each other. 

As Bruh Paul said earlier in his letter to the Ephesians. ‘Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph. 4:29-32) 

Now, if we could only lower the great amount of bitterness, wrath, malice and evil speaking that currently exists in Christ’s church, both the church and the world would be a whole lot better off. We all desire people to be nice to us and forgive us, but sadly we don’t do the same to and for them. Whatever happened to the Golden Rule: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ And remember Jesus’ very decisive words on forgiveness in the Sermon on the Mount. A part of the prayer He taught us reads: ‘And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’ (Matt. 6:12) 

That means we are asking the Lord to forgive us in proportion to how we forgive others. And Jesus went on to further clarify that statement by saying: ‘For if we forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.’ (Matt. 6:14-15) That’s it loud and clear friends; forgive and you will be forgiven; don’t forgive, neither will you be forgiven. 

But we have become so arrogant and boldface these days that we go to the Lord asking for forgiveness, while bearing a whole lot of unforgiveness in our hearts towards others. And when the Lord doesn’t forgive us and answer our prayers, we foolishly wonder why and get angry with God, even to the point of turning away from Him. Oh my people, many of our problems, anxieties and woes stem directly from our ungodly behaviour. Why can’t we wake up and see it eh? Anyway, it’s never too late to make amends, so let’s begin that process right now nuh, by going to the Lord in sincere prayer, asking for His divine help through our Friday Chant. 

Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. 

So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. 

And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

And as the saying goes, ‘it takes two to tango.’ So, if we want the Lord to do our bidding, then we have to reciprocate by doing His. It’s as simple as that my brethren! Much LOVE!

…two together are better than one alone…and one with God is the best there is… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8             

Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 December 2020 2 Corinthians 10:5.

26 Dec 2020 Leave a comment

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

2 Corinthians 10:5.     ​Casting down imaginations (arguments), and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought to the obedience of Christ.

And so, most of the excitement is over now…Chuh! I don’t know why as soon as Christmas day is over people seem to think that the Christmas season done nuh, and they stop playing Christmas music, because it isn’t. It lasts from the beginning of Advent, long before the actual day till into the New Year. Remember is a season. And nobody takes down their Christmas trees before January 7thor thereabouts. So if yuh Christmas tree still up then, that means is still the Christmas season, so you suppose to rejoice and give thanks and praise the Lord for the gift of Christ. (smile) 

Anyhow, today is Boxing Day, and the Province of Ontario lockdown tighter than ah don’t know what. For sure there’ll be none of the usual Boxing Day sales. Well if yuh can’t behave yuhself when the going is good, then you obviously going to suffer the undesirable consequences! 

And that’s exactly what’s been happening here in Ontario; people haven’t been obeying the Covid rules and the cases have been mushrooming, setting new records almost every day, so something had to give. Hope that now all the Christmas festivities sort of over, people will wake up and realize that unless we take serious precautions this virus will become increasingly virulent. But who knows what people will do eh? 

Anyway, it’s also Saturday, so let’s check out some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week nuh, as he aspires to inspire us for a brighter tomorrow. And the preface business still running. ‘Positive affirmation you should tell yourself to remind yourself just how awesome you are.’ And as always, I’ll remind us to remind ourselves that we only awesome when we in Jesus, and He’s in us! 

And the first quote is this: ‘Negative thoughts only have the power I allow them.’ And that’s the gospel truth, for since Christ has conquered hell, death and the grave, NOTHING negative, even the devil, has any power over us, unless we allow it. And as per negative thoughts, Bruh Paul reminds us that we should be about ‘Casting down imaginations (arguments), and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought to the obedience of Christ.’ (2 Cor. 10:5) 

Yes friends, we need to be careful what thoughts we allow to exist in our minds, because the mind is the battlefield of the spiritual war in which we’re engaged. And how do we keep control of our thoughts? One website puts it thus: ‘The word of Christ should dwell in you richly. This can be accomplished by regular study and meditation in the Bible, by memorizing Scriptures, by church attendance, and through committed obedience to Christ’s teachings. It also says to teach and admonish.’ 

As Bruh Paul said to the Ephesians: ‘Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph. 5:19-21) Those are some of the ways we can keep our thoughts and minds strong and reject the negative stuff that’s ever so quick to jump in there. 

And the next quote tells us: ‘To make small steps toward big goals is progress.’ Now that’s no lie, for life itself usually goes in small steps, and there aren’t many times when big things happen suddenly as big things, but they mostly grow from small things until they get big. As mih Jamaican people say, ‘one one cocoa full basket.’ 

And that’s the living truth. You can only put one cocoa in the basket at time, thus we ought to esteem the small things in our lives, because put together, they can grow to big things. Like the mighty oak tree that grows from a small acorn – but it takes a long time to become mighty, doing so in small steps. 

Then we come to this: ‘No amount of guilt can change the past, and no amount of worrying can change the future.’ And isn’t that the indisputable truth. Yet we keep on allowing the guilt of our past to hamper our present and future and allow worry for the future to disrupt our present. That’s foolish my people! 

Once we have come to Christ and asked for forgiveness for our past wrongs, they were forgiven, so there’s no need to keep letting that guilt attack our souls and spirits. The problem there is that we find it hard to forgive ourselves, and that’s possibly a sense of pride. For if Almighty God has forgiven us, who are we not forgive ourselves eh? We’re just saying there that we don’t really believe and trust God’s forgiveness. 

And as per worrying about the future, Jesus said it loud and clear in His Sermon on the Mount: ‘Take therefore no thought for the morrow (therefore do not worry about tomorrow): for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil (trouble) thereof.’ (Matt. 6:34) 

Ah friends, every day has its own problems, more than enough, so there’s no need to take any from one and put it on the other. We just need to try and live ONE DAY at a time and not get too far ahead of ourselves, for life takes pleasure in gumming up the works if we try to be too smart. (smile) 

And our last quote says: ‘The control center of your life is your attitude.’ Now that certainly rings true! Our attitude controls our thoughts and actions. If we have a good attitude, then invariably we have good thoughts and actions. The opposite is also true. If our attitude is bad, then most likely bad thoughts and actions will predominate. And where do we get those polar opposite attitudes from eh? From the two options available to us in this world. 

As Jesus said: ‘No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and LOVE the other; or else he will hold to (be loyal to) the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (earthly riches).’ (Matt. 6:24) And there’s no disputing that! You can’t serve God and the devil at the same time. You have to make a choice. And depending on that choice, you will adopt a certain attitude. 

If you choose Jesus, then your attitude will be predominantly good. But if you choose to serve Beelzebub, then your attitude will be predominantly evil! So it’s up to each of us to choose to whom we will bow, but bow to somebody, we must. Let’s hope that most, no, ALL of us choose to serve the One and Only Saviour of our fallen world; JESUS CHRIST! Then, good attitudes will predominate in our world. Much LOVE!

…oh…why is it so hard to get suffering sinners…to come to Christ’s comforting arms eh… 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 October 2020 Ephesians 5:20.

12 Oct 2020 Leave a comment

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

Ephesians 5:20.     ​Giving thanks ALWAYS for ALL things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY CANADA! 

And do we ever have a lot to be thankful for in this blessed and bountiful land of Canada! Oh I know that some of you are complaining plenty about the problems we’re currently encountering on a rather large scale, and I admit they can be rather daunting, especially since we’ve never encountered anything like them before. But the truth of the matter is that even with those problems confusing and confuffling our lives, we’re still living much better in this country than most of the others around the world…and for that we should be everlastingly grateful! 

The abnormal situation we are undergoing right now is the norm for some countries. And as our Christian faith teaches us, once there is life, there is hope, and this too shall pass in God’s time. So we can’t give up, especially since giving up doesn’t exist in God’s vocabulary. Consequently, it’s time for us to have a new revelation; counting our blessings rather than our losses. And yuh know what? We’ll discover we have much more of the former than the latter, which ought to put us in a better and more thankful frame of mind. (smile) 

And to help us do that, let’s invoke a couple of Bruh Paul’s admonitions to the churches at Ephesus and Philippi re living in godly unity and thankfulness. To the Ephesians, he said: ‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Giving thanks ALWAYS for ALL things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph. 5:18-21) 

Yeh friends, as believers in Christ, we must allow the Holy Spirit to fill us with God’s character and virtues, and thus control our thoughts, attitudes and actions. And we do that through encouraging and exhorting each other with psalms and hymns etc., as well as being joyful in our own hearts and giving thanks to God for everything that comes into our lives, since we know that it will eventually be used for our good by God. And last but not least, deferring to the wishes of others, if we know it’s God’s will. 

And to the church at Philippi, Bruh Paul advised: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation (graciousness) be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand (His return is near, and He will judge us according to our treatment of others). Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:4-7) 

Oh my people, I know those things are hard to accomplish in this evil world, but who ever said that following Christ was easy eh? (smile) But it’s those things that promote unity and LOVE amongst believers, enriching our own lives, as well as showing the unbeliever what is possible if He accepts Christ as His Lord and Saviour. Yeh friends, we must ever be prayerful and thankful, regardless of our circumstances. So even if we’re going through some really rough times now, prayer and thanksgiving are essential if we want to find that peace of God which passes all understanding. 

So what better time to start than right now eh, on this Thanksgiving Day? And we’ll do it through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, which I believe captures all our fears, doubts, needs and wants. So as one strong voice, in true penitence, let’s go to God in sincere prayer nuh. 

‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You that this Monday morning we’re alive and standing in faith despite the mass confusion that’s currently prevailing in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems; the pandemic of Covid -19, the racial, political, and religious strife that’s ignited worldwide, plus the natural disasters like storms, famine, drought, plagues, climate change, wildfires, earthquakes and erupting volcanoes that suddenly seem to be blossoming more and more as time goes by. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously come short in obedience and compliance to Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, and You have faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us, ordinary folks, as well as our leaders, employers and medical personnel, wise guidance and direction to bring our problems under control. 

And for those who are currently suffering from the many negative situations, we pray that You will ease their suffering and heal them. Father, please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again we say: Amen!’ 

So let’s turn from our evil ways nuh people; it’s as simple as that, because it’s basically sin that’s muddying our waters. That reminds me of a quote from Uncle Charles (Dr. Charles Stanley) on sin. He says: ‘Sin is like dirt in salt. It corrupts our lives, ruins the flavour of Christianity for all who know us, and makes us useless to God.’ More truthful words were never spoken my brethren! But it’s all up to us. If we want the Lord to heal us and our land, we need to turn from our evil ways. 

Oh, and let it not be said that I was amiss in my duty on this Thanksgiving Day, this day of celebration. (smile) Friends, I plead with us to remember Granny’s warning: ‘Sonny Boy, drunk or sober, ah beg yuh, please mind yuh business, else somebody else going to mind it for you.’ And that’s the gospel truth people, so please let’s be careful with food and drink, don’t overdo it, remember moderation in all things, and don’t get into no crowds, remember physical distancing and masks too. That’s the recipe for a successful and enjoyable Thanksgiving Day! Much LOVE!

…for the joy of the Lord is our strength…don’t let the devil steal it… 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 March 2020 1 John 4:18.

17 Mar 2020 Leave a comment

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

1 John 4:18.    ​There is no fear in LOVE; but perfect LOVE casteth out fear: because fear hath (involves) torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in LOVE.
 

Well a Happy St. Patrick’s Day! We’ve now reached the middle of the Lenten Season. But unfortunately there’ll be no public celebrations in green this year as the lockdown of the world continues… with the panic moving right along with it! Ah Lord eh! Canada has now barred certain people from certain places from entering the country. You’ll have to check out the Canadian Government Website to find out exactly who or whom are no longer welcome.  And sadly, every day, it seems to be getting worse; more people contracting the virus, more people dying, more empty shelves in the groceries and supermarkets, more places closing, but absolutely no word of how and when this pandemic will end, and certainly no reassuring news of some antidote been found to contradict the virus. 

But friends, when the Lord made man, He instilled one truly admirable quality in him; that of hope which leads to faith; of being able to fight through extremely tough situations with His awesome help. And in these turbulent and tremulous times, with no positive end in sight and no medical solution on the near horizon, it’s our faith and trust and surrender to Almighty God that is going to get us through. And to bolster our faith and courage and lessen our fear, here’s ‘A Great Message for the moment.’ A beautifully written piece by one Fr. Richard Hendrick, OFM. I received it from a friend yesterday, and thought I just had to share it because it was so true and beautiful and uplifting. Please read carefully, inwardly digest and take the necessary outward actions. It’s titled “Lockdown!” 

‘Yes there is fear. Yes there is isolation. Yes there is buying panic. Yes there is sickness. Yes there is even death. But, They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise You can hear the birds again. They say that after just a few weeks of quiet The sky is no longer thick with fumes But blue and grey and clear. They say that in the streets of Assisi People are singing to each other across the empty squares, keeping their windows open so that those who are alone may hear the sounds of family around them. 

They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound. Today, a young woman I know is busy spreading fliers with her number through the neighborhood So that the elders may have someone to call on. Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples are preparing to welcome and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary. All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting. All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way. 

All over the world people are waking up to a new reality. To how big we really are. To how little control we really have. To what really matters. To LOVE. So we pray and remember that, Yes, there is fear. But there does not have to be hate. Yes, there is isolation. But there does not have to be loneliness. Yes there is buying panic. But there does not have to be meanness. Yes, there is sickness. But there does not have to be disease of the soul. Yes, there is even death. But there can always be a rebirth of LOVE. 

Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now. Today, breathe, listen, behind the factory noises of your panic The birds are singing again. The sky is clearing, Spring is coming, And we are always encompassed by LOVE. Open the windows of your soul. And though you may not be able to touch across the empty square, SING!’ 

Oh friends, isn’t that touching! I certainly hope that it resounds powerfully within each and everyone of us. And if you will, please share it, because it’s the first positive reaction I’ve seen throughout these crazy and panic-filled times. And strangely enough, earlier on this morning, when I got up and went to the bathroom, I heard birds singing outside for the first time this year, and smiled to myself, thinking, spring is near! Glory be! (smile) 

And the psalmist said it in spades, so long ago: ‘Make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto the Lord, all ye lands (all the earth). Serve the Lord with gladness, come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord, he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.’ (Ps.100:1-5) 

Precious people, just in those five verses the psalmist has spelled it all out for us; the Lord God is good and mighty, and we need to bow before Him with singing and praise and thanksgiving! And singing has always been a way to ease the pressures of life. As another psalmist says: ‘I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord.’ (Ps.104:33-34) And as Bruh Paul told the Ephesians on how to be Spirit-filled: ‘Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph. 5:19-21) 

Ah my people, that is the first move we ought to make in this crisis; seek God! And I do hope that we see His hand at work in this fear-filled time, because it is present. It’s His way of reining us in, of bringing us back to our senses, and as the author says above, of showing us how small we really are and how little control we do have over our lives and situations. It’s His way of bringing us back to him, killing our false and foolish pride, of showing that the most important thing is not worldly wealth and power, but His righteousness. That’s why His Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ said so emphatically during His earthly sojourn: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) 

But no, we in our false pride and bravado, with the li’l intelligence we’ve gleaned over the years, have now gotten so big for our britches, that we now desire to, and foolishly believe we can remove our Creator from our society. Hn! What a nonsensical desire and belief! And I have to sadly chuckle when I think about the small virus that the Lord has used to bring us to our knees. Think about it nuh people. Some small, simple, unknown infection is driving the mighty mankind crazy! Can you believe it? 

But yet in all the confusion, many of us are finding, new hope, stronger faith, trust and LOVE! And why is that? Because as John says: ‘There is no fear in LOVE; but perfect LOVE casteth out fear: because fear hath (involves) torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in LOVE.’ And having said all of that, my faithful followers of Christ, let’s go home declaring (steups!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are! 

In strong voice with sincere hearts in these trying times, let’s be strong in our Triune Godhead. ‘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 in our current situation, we do need to share the warm, reassuring LOVE of Christ and His amazing friendship with each other more than ever. Much LOVE!

…when you’re sad…sing songs of praise…and you’ll reclaim your joy…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 September 2019 Ephesians 5:19.

15 Sep 2019 Leave a comment

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

Ephesians 5:19.    ​Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.
 

Well, well, well, if it isn’t that wonderful day called Sunday! The one where we ought to visit the Lord’s sanctuary to give Him thanks and praise and fellowship with other believers, hear His holy Word and receive strength to face another daunting week in this evil and ungodly world. Unfortunately though the ole fella is unable to do that since he’s way out in the wilds of northern South Africa, with no TV or internet. But the Lord knows his heart and will hear whatever prayers I send up to him this day. (smile) 

So, obviously without access to the net, I can’t get words for a song, therefore we’ll just have to sing our own individual songs. (smile) As Bruh Paul says: ‘Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.’  And as James declares: ‘Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry (cheerful)? Let him sing psalms.’ (James 5:13) So since we’re all merry, let’s sing psalms nuh…and we don’t need any internet to do that. (smile) So let’s sing this rather appropriate psalm # 150 – Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. 

In strong voice and sweet harmony: ‘Praise ye the Lord (sing Hallelujah). Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power (his mighty firmament). Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet (cornet): praise him with the psaltery (lute or lyre) and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high-sounding cymbals. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord (sing Hallelujah!)’ 

Yeh friends, anything, or anybody who draws breath in this crazy world ought to give the Lord God Almighty much thanks and praise just for that fact alone, because it is through His omnipotence and generosity that we are even able to draw breath, much less enjoy all the other benefits! Anyway, my Sunday began with a 5.a.m. wake-up call from our guide Fortune, so we could get to the Lodge for coffee and take off on the morning game drive by five thirty. 

Well there we were heading out in the dark at five thirty in the crisp morning air, hoping to see at least one of the big five we had not yet seen. And the big five are: elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards and hippos. So far we’d seen the first two, but no trace of any of the other three. And believe me, driving out in that Land Cruiser in the darkness, especially as Fortune drives, is something else, because he slashes through and over the thickets with gay abandon. I learned early on, in my co-pilot seat, to keep my hands inside and move towards him when he began slashing through the brambles and numerous thorn trees. (smile) 

Unfortunately, we rode around the rough trails for a while without seeing anything besides some smaller animals, like guinea hens and impalas, or what they call McDonalds, because they have a big black, capital ‘M’ stenciled on their rear ends, that resembles the McDonald’s sign. (smile) What we did see however, was the spectacular rising of the early morning sun, coming up blood red above the eastern horizon, while the big, full moon still stood fairly high in the western sky! And as the Almighty God who made them so wisely planned it, the former eventually rose higher and commanded the day, while the latter decreased in stature and soon disappeared altogether. 

Sometime during that game drive though, the word came out that some lions had been seen, and we journeyed to the spot, joining two other groups of people. Now check out this scene. It’s my favourite of the whole trip. The male lion is lying quietly in the shade, barely discernible because his coat is so much like the brown, dry grass, while the female who seems to be in heat (it’s mating season) prances by him, goes off a li’l way, then lies down. Soon the king of beasts comes, mounts her from the rear, does his thing…and it’s all over in like five seconds. Then he casually strolls off and lies down below a shade tree, while the female moves off a short distance. 

It’s said that they have to copulate every twenty minutes, but I don’t think the lady waited that long, then she came back to the gentleman lying quietly below the tree, pranced around him, rubbed her rear end on him, and made all kinds of entreaties. But the ole boy was having none of it. He just lay their stoically, head held high in the air, till the lady got tired of not so subtlety making her intentions known and walked away to lie down on an incline where he could see her, and prostrate herself in all her glory. And I had to laugh, because a couple of minutes later, the ole boy just put down his head and apparently went to sleep, completely ignoring the lady. 

This just goes to prove the falsehood of the oh so prevalent and prevailing theory that a man never refuses a woman, that he will undoubtedly fall for all of her sensuous wiles and tricks! Let that be a lesson to you women! (smile) Man is not always as foolish and gullible as he seems! We left the scene shortly after the ole fellow put down his head, indicating that no further action was going to happen for a while, and eventually got back home around minutes to nine, had breakfast then went to sleep. We even told them not to prepare lunch because we were all so tired and filled with food. We’d come for high tea at four, before going out for another drive at four thirty. 

Unfortunately, we didn’t see much on that drive besides what we’d already seen. We went driving along the river, over and through the brambles and thickets, with Fortune’s dexterity, looking for hippos or leopards, but failed to see any. Then it was back to the lodge in time for supper. Oh, can you imagine I fell asleep on the way home driving through those rough roads with all the noise, with Fortune driving one handed while shining his spotlight from side to side with the other. I was surely surprised by that. Just goes to show how tired the ole fella was. Tomorrow’s another day though! Much LOVE!

…giving thanks and praise…for simply drawing breath…should be a top priority…..

Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 June 2019 Ephesians 5:19.

23 Jun 2019 Leave a comment

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

Ephesians 5:19.    ​Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
 

Well, well, well… the first Sunday in this summer season of 2019! And it’s shaping up to be a beautiful one, so there can be no weather related excuses for not heading towards the Lord’s sanctuary at some time today, to praise, worship and exalt Him, fellowship with other believers, and receive the confidence and assurance of His Holy Word that will enable us to go back out and face the enemy mano a mano in the upcoming workweek. 

Let’s be obedient for a change nuh, and do as the Good Book says: ‘Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God day: in it thou shalt not do any work. …For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.’ (Ex.20:8-11) 

Ah friends, yuh see that rest and fellowship and spiritual renewal were so important in the Lord’s plan that He enshrined them in the Ten Commandments! So who are we to say otherwise eh? And as always, we’ll open the proceedings with a song of praise and adoration to soften up our hearts and put us in the mood to receive all that our wonderful God has to offer us. 

And today’s song is one that pays tribute to God’s creation of the earth and the majestic nature that He’s created thereon. It’s the old Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam) classic: ‘Morning has broken.’ So without further ado, let’s sing it out from deep within our hearts and souls, with much thanksgiving and feeling, like we really believe and mean what we singing nuh. 

As one glorious choir now: ‘Morning has broken like the first morning Blackbird has spoken like the first bird Praise for the singing Praise for the morning Praise for them springing fresh from the world Sweet the rain’s new fall, sunlit from heaven Like the first dewfall on the first grass Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden Sprung in completeness where his feet pass 

Mine is the sunlight Mine is the morning Born of the one light Eden saw play Praise with elation, praise ev’ry morning God’s recreation of the new day Morning has broken like the first morning Blackbird has spoken like the first bird Praise for the singing Praise for the morning Praise for them springing fresh from the world.’ Short but sweet!

And isn’t it just amazing my faithful brethren how this morning has broken just like the first morning did eons ago, and as every morning has done in between, and like every morning will continue to break until the Lord decides otherwise! And likewise how the birds greet each morning like the first one with their songs of joy, praise and thanksgiving! Mama Mia! Only a Deity of omnipotent power and wisdom can create such a constant happening down through the ages! 

And yuh see how He created the beautiful Garden of Eden to house Adam and Even, and the other marvels of nature for their descendants. And it’s the very same sunlight and morning that our forefathers saw in Eden so long ago. And He’s such a wonderful God that although our forefathers were disobedient He didn’t destroy us completely, but kept mankind around until it was time for His Son Jesus to make His marvellous appearance as our Lord and Saviour, sin-bearer and Redeemer. 

That’s why, as the song says we ought to praise Him with elation, every morning that we open our eyes to a new one with birds singing and the sun shining down from heaven. Oh, and don’t forget to also praise Him when the sweet rain falls gently on the ground, because that is also His doing, and it does serve many useful purposes in our lives. 

That’s why there are so many scripture passages praising the Lord and also advising us to praise Him. And yuh know what friends, it’s all for our benefit. So let’s check out a few of them in the time and space we have left nuh, beginning with these awesome words of truth from the psalmist Asaph from Psalm 77. 

‘Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary (in holiness): who is so great a God as our God? Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people. Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph.   Selah.’ (Ps.77:13-15)  

And hear Isaiah when talking about the servant (Jesus) coming to glorify the Lord. ‘Behold the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles (coastlands), and the inhabitants thereof.’ (Is.42:9-10) 

Meanwhile another psalmist declares (wrong again!) ‘O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvelous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory….Make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise (break forth in song), and rejoice, and sing praise.’ (Ps.98:1,4) That’s just like we did earlier on friends! 

And we’ll end with this wonderful advice from Bruh Paul to the Ephesians, as he talks about the ways of the true believer. ‘Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit. 

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph.5:17-21) 

Oh friends, if we take that wonderful advice, we can never go wrong in our LOVE walk, because it will just raise our faith and keep us tripping on top of the world! Wow! And do I ever LOVE that last part of our Bit: ‘singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;’ It just touches the soul of the writer and musician in me! 

Anyway, it’s time to go home now, we done late already, going to church spoil mih business. (smile) So please have a blessed Sabbath day, singing and praising and fellowshipping and hearing and reading the immortal Word of God, as we faithful saints of Christ are meant to do! Much LOVE!

…let the whole earth…all of creation…praise the Lord…for it is His just dessert…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 October 2017 Psalm 23:3a.

25 Oct 2017 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 23:3a.   He restoreth my soul…

Awright mih breddren, the ole fella is alive and kicking; kicking some serious butt too on this somewhat cloudy Wednesday morning in the fall of 2017! Glory to God! 

Oh my aches and pains are still there, and whatever’s wrong inside is still wrong, but my spirit has been rejuvenated. More glory to God! 

It’s just that lately so many things over which I had no control have been coming against me, that it was only a matter of time before the ole bod, the spirit and soul got tired. 

When you suddenly find out that what you thought was improving, wasn’t really improving, while other things were still going wrong, and you’re constantly moving from one doctor’s appointment or medical institution during traffic jam hours, it does make for a difficult time. 

Oh, I’ve been going along quite okay despite the numerous problems, not given up hope and standing strong in faith, but in the face of all that negative stuff, it was inevitable that the spirit would sag some. 

However, after writing yesterday’s Bit, I just decided to refuel my spirit, lift my level of passion for life higher, bring it back to a level that allows me to function with more authority and energy. As the saying goes, doctor heal thyself, with me it was spiritual man, refuel thy spirit. (smile) 

I’ve decided that like Bruh David did, to encourage myself in the Lord some more. Let the aches and pains, and whatever else is wrong, do their thing, I won’t let them stop me from doing mine. They will obviously slow me down, but that’s fine, once they don’t stop me completely. 

I know the Lord’s doing a major renovation in me, and it’s not going to be easy, but I also know that if he begins a good work in me, then He WILL see it through to completion. 

Plus He won’t give me more than I can handle, and will also help me pass through the fire unscathed, so that when I come out on the other side, I’ll be brand new! Glory Hallelujah! 

That brings us to our simple but oh so important Bit from that great psalm of Bruh David, ‘The Lord is my shepherd.’ ‘He restoreth my soul…’ 

Yeh friends, the Lord does just that when we surrender all our aches and pains and whatever is bothering us to Him. But we also need to trust and believe and write God’s promises indelibly in our hearts and souls, so that when life comes against us, we’ll be able to use them to stand steadfast and strong. 

Let’s remember that we’re the head and not the tail; above and not beneath; sure conquerors with Jesus by our sides. In fact, He’s already given us the victory over hell, death, the grave and their evil keeper Lucifer. But it all takes a magnum of faith, especially in these pretty evil and ungodly times. 

However, please remember Bruh Paul’s admonition to the Ephesians: ‘And be not drunk with wine wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Holy Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (Eph.5:18-20) 

Yeh friends, that’s the only way we can remain strong and grow in the LOVE and knowledge of God. And here is an interesting explanation from the scholars on the ‘Fullness of the Holy Spirit.’ 

‘5:18. The words be filled here mean “be continually filled,” emphasizing that the fullness of the Spirit is a repeated experience for believers. When a person is drunk with an alcoholic beverage, his walk, talk and sight are controlled by alcohol. 

God desires that the minds of Christians be controlled by the Holy Spirit so that they will walk in the Spirit, speak on behalf of God, and understand the things of God. Because people are indwelt by the Holy Spirit at salvation, they do not need to get more of the Holy Spirit, but the filling of the Spirit occurs when the Holy Spirit gets more of the believer. 

Illustration: As we establish our relationship with God through confession of sins (1 John 1:9) and yield to Him (Rom.6:13), we can be filled with the Spirit if that is our desire (Matt.5:6) and prayer (Luke 11:13). Application: Every Christian should be filled with the Spirit in order that he may have God’s power to serve Him. (Acts 1:8) (First Ref. Ex.35:31; Primary Ref. Eph.5:18; cf. 1 John 2:27.)’ 

Ah my people, it’s of the utmost importance that in these last days, we allow the Holy Spirit of God to get more of us! Please check out those references above, they give great insight into the use and power of God’s Spirit. 

And to help us improve in our use and value of the Holy Spirit, let’s go home vociferously declaring our Wednesday Mantra with all truth and sincerity. ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! 

Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. 

I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And that future WILL indeed be glorious friends! Much LOVE!

…it’s time for God’s Spirit to be lifted up in us… so that we can better do His work and will…

P.S. Please excuse the tardiness of the Bit. I just got up late, and even then thought it was 7.45, when it was 8.45. What to do eh? Aging is a helluva thing! (smile) Much LOVE!

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 November 2015 Psalm 95:1‏

12 Nov 2015 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 95:1.   O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) to the rock of our salvation.

Ah Friends, these late nights and early mornings going to be the death of the ole fella yes! But I’m just naturally a night owl! (smile) I awoke earlier on, looked at the clock and decided it was time to get up, but then thought I’d just roll over and soak for a while. 

Hn! But it seems that I fell asleep again, and it was almost an hour later that I finally finished soaking. Hn, hn! What a life eh! 

Then I discovered that today, Thursday, was another British type weather day; constant drizzle. Yesterday afternoon turned out beautifully though, with bright sunshine. Let’s hope that today will do the same. 

But regardless of how the day turns out, it is still the day that our great and wonderful God has made, filled with plenty new blessings and mercies, so let us rejoice and be glad in it, as we were meant to do. 

Now here is something I’ve been trying to share for about three days now, but was thwarted by the Holy Spirit every time. I guess I wasn’t meant to share it until today. So here it is, something from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional titled ‘LEARN TO KNOW GOD.’  

That’s something we all need to do my people! So please pray with me. ‘Dear Jesus, I’ve got to know you better. Please help me! I can feel my spiritual and emotional walls crack. I can hear old chains break. I can feel my heart opening like a heavy old door whose ancient seals have just begun to break. 

I can sense the footsteps of Jesus walking into my life. I am beginning to experience the joy of a soul that is being saved, a life that is being born again. Thank You, Lord! Life’s not fair, but God is good. Amen.’ 

Yes Friends, our God is definitely good, no doubt about it! So hopefully, if we prayed that prayer sincerely, at whatever level of maturity in Christ that we are currently at, we will soon hear new doors opening and feel Jesus beginning to move at a higher level in our lives. 

For remember, it’s all a lifetime process, and we never finish learning and maturing until we take our final earthly breath. And to help us do that, in terms of the praise and thanksgiving aspect, we’ll continue our series of messages along those lines. 

And our Bit once again wisely invites us: ‘O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) to the rock of our salvation.’ 

Oh Friends, there’s nothing better in this life than giving thanks and praise to our most wonderful and ever-LOVING God! Why? Because that’s one of the main things we were created for! 

But unfortunately we have relegated it to the back parts of our Christian walk. You don’t hear believers singing as often and as joyfully as we once did, because we have been caught up in, entangled by the tentacles of the evil world and all its false and deceptive deeds and teachings. 

But today my brethren, we’re going to attempt to correct that with some joyful scripture. Here is Bruh Paul’s prescription to the Ephesians ‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph.5:18-21) 

Yes my people, we should always be in thanksgiving and praising mode, regardless of our circumstances. Remember how Bruh Paul and Silas reacted during their imprisonment in Philippi? The Good Book tells it thus: ‘And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard.’ (Acts 16:25) 

Yes Friends, even in one the darkest hours of their lives, they were praying and singing hymns, giving glory to God. And you know what happened; an earthquake came and broke down the prison gates, but none of the prisoners fled, which all led to the saving of the jailer and his family, and no doubt some of the other prisoners also. (Acts 16:26-34) 

So you see my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, there is no telling what our God will do when we praise and glorify Him, even in our saddest times. James says it quite right. ‘Is any among you afflicted (suffering)? let him pray. Is any merry (cheerful)? let him sing psalms.’ (James 5:13) 

And Asaph, in Psalm 50 – God is the judge – tells us what our God desires of us. ‘Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the Most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.’ (Ps.50:14-15) 

Yes Friends, whenever we sincerely and faithfully call upon our God, we give Him a chance to deliver us, and thus glorify His Holy Name. And we’ll end with these beautiful and most assuring words from Psalm 92 – Praises for the Lord’s goodness. 

‘It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High: To show forth (declare) thy LOVING-kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery (lute or lyre); upon the harp with a solemn (harmonious or melodic) sound. For thou Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.’ (Ps.92:1-4) 

Oh my people, my people, please, I’m imploring us to ramp up our acts of praise and thanksgiving to our God and Creator, regardless of our circumstances. 

Why? Because when we come to Him in praise and thanksgiving, it gives Him an opportunity to work miracles in our lives and thus raise the level of our faith and trust. It’s wisdom at its best! Much LOVE!

…O sing unto the Lord a new song…sing unto the Lord…all the earth… sing unto the Lord…bless his name…show forth (proclaim the good news of) his salvation…from day to day… (Ps.96:1-2)