16 May 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a time of hope, abundant in goodness and truth, alive with God's grace, avoid evil, beloved of God, better late than never, between friends, Bob Colaresi, clean out hearts, cleanse, concentrate on good, consequences, death and resurrection of Jesus, deceits, dying, forgiveness of sin, forgiving iniquity, freedom, friend of Jesus, glory hallelujah, God of hope, God's will, goodness, grace, gracious, hope, human drama, iniquity, Jesus Christ, junk, kindness, lies, long-suffering, merciful, mercy, Moses, new beginnings, new future, new possibilities, prince of darkness, raised us up, reflection, renewal, renewed life, rich in mercy, right relationship with God, rising, selfless sacrifice, shining brightly in our hearts, Society of the Little Flower, spring, spring thinking, St. Therese, the goodness of God, the gospel, the Lord God, the Lord passed by, transgressions, trust, truth, Tuesday Mantra
Exodus 34:6. And the Lord passed by before him (Moses), and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.
Aye mih people, my sincerest apologies for the Bit’s tardiness today, (smile) but I had one of those real late early mornings, and the ole bod simply refused to get up when I asked it to. But as they say, better late than never.
And though a light drizzle is falling in my area, making it a somewhat grey morning, we know that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is shining brightly in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls! Glory Hallelujah!
And today, I want to share with us some exciting and reassuring words from Father Bob Colaresi’s opening remarks in the Spring Edition of ‘Between Friends,’ the newsletter of the Friends of the Society of the Little Flower (St. Therese of Liseux).
He is talking about hope and renewal: ‘Spring is a time of HOPE. God is our God of HOPE. The Gospel is about HOPE – Renewed Life. The celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus speaks to the human drama of dying and rising – always rising to new possibilities, sometimes beyond our imagining.’
And isn’t that the indisputable truth my fellow followers of Christ? It surely is! For it was HOPE that our glorious Lord and Saviour was born, died and rose from the grave for us to have; so that we can embrace a new future filled with good things.
And as the article in the Between Friends Newsletter also says: ‘Spring is a time to reflect on what we need to let go of so we can be alive with God’s grace, possibilities and freedom.’
Oh what a profound and true statement my brethren! Spring is not only the time to clean our homes and garages and get rid of unnecessary junk, but it’s also a time to clean our hearts, bodies and souls of the worthless stuff that’s gathered there, and is keeping us from having the true and right relationship with our heavenly Father that we so desperately need to have.
So I invite us to day to have what we shall call ‘spring thinking,’ where we endeavour to cleanse ourselves of anything that’s not moving us towards God’s will for our lives.
And one of the ways we can do that is simply by concentrating on the goodness of our God, as enshrined in our Bit. ‘And the Lord passed by before him (Moses), and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.’
Yeh friends, one of the easiest ways to avoid evil, is to concentrate on good; so that the mind has no place for the lies and deceits of the prince of darkness. But listen to what the Lord told Moses after our Bit.
‘Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and fourth generation.’ (Ex.34:7)
Now the end of that statement sounds somewhat harsh, but with the coming of Jesus that was somewhat mitigated, for everybody now has to bear the consequences for their own transgressions.
But Glory to God, there’s still mercy and forgiveness of sin! And nowhere is God’s goodness spelled out more succinctly than in Bruh Paul’s words to the Ephesians on the terms of grace and faith.
‘But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great LOVE wherewith he LOVED us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us (made us alive) together with Christ, (by grace ye are (have been) saved;)
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might show his grace in his kindness toward us through (in) Christ Jesus.’ (Eph.2:4-7)
How magnanimous is that eh my precious people! Our wonderful God LOVED us so much, that even when we were dead in our transgressions, He gave us an option to be lifted out of the mire, to rise godly and righteous, through the selfless sacrifice of His most adorable Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
Wow! I can’t help saying it friends: ‘What a wonderful God we serve and worship! There’s NONE else like Him in all the world! Praise and Bless His Holy Name!’
Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, extolling who and whose we are. With strong conviction now: ‘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!’
So if that’s what we are about my brethren, then let’s go out now and share it with the rest of the world, as our friend Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…spring…the time of resurrection…of cleansing…of new beginnings…
07 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, A journey of love, a positive outlook, abundance, accept, accomplishes His will, allow your love, amend, blaspheming, blessed, broken, by might, by my spirit, by power, ceiled houses, centre my life, change our sinful ways, charles stanley, cherish your love, clear direction, compassionate, compromise, consequences, consider your ways, courage, creativity, curse, cursing, declare blessings, desires, disobedience, divine protection, earthly lusts, embrace, empowerment, examples, expensive price, family, favour, fellowship, forgiving, friends, fulfillment, God doesn't change, God's plan for our lives, God's presence, God's work, good, guidance, Haggai, health, hefty price, in the name of Jesus, lead, let go, lie waste, LOVE, meditation, merciful God, negative word, obey God, panelled, Pentecost, power in the Word, prayer, profitable, promotion, prosper, reading the Word, rebellion, remove God, repent, responsibilities, return to His fold, ruins, saith the Lord, self-control, self-discipline, sinful, smarten up, St. Therese, strong will, succeed, success, supernatural strength, supernatural wisdom, take note, talent, tardiness, the Good Book, the Holy Spirit, the Lord of hosts, the obits, the power of God's word, the time is not come, Thursday Blessings, to face up to responsibilities, ungodly, unrepentant, walk in your steps, wisdom, working relationship, Zerubbabel
Zechariah 4:6b. Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord.
One more day, yes, one more day!
Oh my fellow believers we’ve been blessed with one more day to carry out God’s plan for our lives. So please let’s use it right nuh, since we don’t know if we’ll be granted any more. Tomorrow we might just wake up and read our names in the obits. (smile)
So we need to make the very best use of today, for that is all we have. And let’s begin, as we should, by asking the Lord for His lead, guidance and ‘enablement’ to successfully work His wonderful plan.
Let’s pray this powerful prayer taken from a Devotional, Discovering God’s Presence in LOVE – A Journey of LOVE, Walking with St. Therese of Lisieux. I believe I’ve shared this prayer sometime ago, but as we say, when it’s nice you have to do it twice, if not thrice. (smile)
Please pray with me. ‘Jesus, I desire above all else to centre my life in you. Only you can give me the courage to face up to my responsibilities, to be compassionate and forgiving, to let go of what is not important and to embrace what is important.
I am called to accept and to cherish your LOVE for me and to allow your LOVE to go out from me to all your people. Help me to walk in your steps without compromise, and to be open to your presence in all of the people I meet. I make my prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.’
Yes my fellow brethren in Christ, we can only do God’s work with His empowerment. And having asked for God’s guidance, let’s now declare the power of God’s Word over our lives by enthusiastically and sincerely declaring our Thursday Blessings.
All together 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!’
Yes mih people! How good and profitable it is to declare blessings over our lives and of those around us, because there’s awesome power in the Word!
As our Bit so wisely tells us, it’s ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord.’ And that’s gospel truth friends! Since Pentecost, we’ve had the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in us, and it’s through that wonderful Spirit of guidance and LOVE that God accomplishes His will.
But we have to listen closely to it’s leading for any success to be had. And that’s where so many of us go wrong; thinking that we’re listening and following God’s Holy Spirit, when in actual fact we’re following the earthly lusts of our flesh and our own thinking.
And that can get us into some serious trouble. It’s therefore very important that we develop a close and excellent working relationship with our God, through consistent prayer, meditation, reading of His word and fellowship with other believers so that we can understand the moving of the Holy Spirit within us. Remember, not everything that seems right is right, and even if it’s right, it might not be good for us.
Now let’s get a little background on how and why our Bit came to be. ‘In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, (Jazadak) the high priest saying,
Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built. Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled (panelled) houses, and this house (the temple) lie waste (to lie in ruins). Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.’ (Hag.1:1-5)
Yeh friends, the people were living in good houses while the Lord’s temple lay in ruins! Obviously the Lord didn’t take too kindly to that. Hear the scholars’ explanation.
‘1:2-6. Ceiled houses refers to ceilings panelled with fine woods. Such a practice was common for the residences of kings (cf. 1 Kin.7:7; Jer.22:14). In contrast, the Lord’s house lay in waste. The command Consider your ways, is issued five times throughout the course of this prophecy (vv.5,7; 2:15, 18).
It is a plea on the part of God for the people to take note of what they are doing, and amend their ways accordingly.’ Oh my people, our great, faithful, LOVING, forgiving and merciful God is saying the exact same thing to us today: ‘Consider your ways.’
Just look at how we’re living nuh; sinful, ungodly, unrepentant, cursing and blaspheming as though He doesn’t exist. We’re trying our level best to remove His from our society, so that right now it’s all about what we want, as the world and its ungodly lusts and desires drive us.
That’s not right friends, the Lord is still on His throne, sadly looking on at all we do, and if we don’t smarten up, repent and return to His fold sometime soon, then we’re going to pay a rather expensive price for our disobedience and rebellion.
That’s just the way it has been, as we can see from the numerous examples in the Good Book. Our God hasn’t and doesn’t change, so if we don’t, there will be a hefty price to pay.
Please, I beg, I plead with us to remember that, and thus, in heavenly wisdom, change our sinful ways! Much LOVE!
…as uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) says…the best way to live this life…is to simply obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him…
P.S. Sorry for the tardiness of the Bit, but I went our yesterday evening, so it ended up being an exceptionally late (or early) morning. (smile) Much LOVE!
22 May 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A journey of love, Andrew, care, character, Christian fellowship, compassion, confusion, consternation, darkness witness, disobedient, egocentric world, faith cometh by hearing, follow me, glorify, God's absence, gospel truth, hearing by the word of God, help, I will make you fishers of men, James, John, leadership, like pulling teeth, live in god's light, LOVE, merciful and gracious love, message, mind your business, ministry, obedience, oral communication, praise, prayer, relationship with Christ, rules, secular, Simon, St. Therese, struggle, Sunday, the body of Christ, the church, the Good Book, the Holy Spirit, the Lord's Day, the Lordship of christ, the sea of Galilee, there's strength in numbers, trying times, watch your actions, watch your habits, watch your thoughts, watch your words, where two or three are gathered, wisdom, worship, yuh dog not in this fight, Zebedee
Matthew 4:19. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
At last it’s Sunday my brethren; the day of the Lord, where we get to go to His sanctuary and praise and worship and glorify Him with other believers! Glory to God!
Now some of us might consider that to be no big thing, but believe me friends it is a huge doing in our Christian fellowship, for we were advised by Christ to gather together as His body, His church, so that we can keep our relationship with Him fresh and renewed through prayer and praise and all the other wonderful things we do in church.
What did Jesus say? ‘For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.’ (Matt.18:20) And that’s no lie, for wherever and whenever we get together our Lord and Saviour is right in the midst of us through His Holy Spirit.
So please don’t think that it’s not necessary to go to church, because it is. As a cohesive group we can get so much more done, and also as the old saying goes, there’s strength in numbers, and the body of Christ badly needs sincere and faithful numbers in these tumultuous and very trying times.
Anyway, suffice it to say that it’s Sunday and all believers ought to make an effort to go to church, or at least listen to the Word by radio or television. For remember Bruh Paul’s words to the church at Rome. ‘So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’ (Rom.10:17)
As the scholars explain, He’s talking there about the oral communication of the gospel, and that ‘faith is not in what is heard, but faith that comes about by what is heard.’
Now let’s lighten up some and check out this Trini quote of the day, sent to me by a Trini friend. ‘Yuh dog not in dis fight.’ Generally said as a scolding to someone for attempting or getting involved in something in which they do not belong; such as an argument, fight etc. The same as saying – mind your own business, this does not concern you, so keep out. Have a great day.’
Only in T&T you say! And He adds as a useful corollary: ‘Watch your thoughts: They become words. Watch your words: They become actions. Watch your actions: They become habits. Watch your habits: They become your character.’ And it’s all gospel truth my people.
And now it’s time to get serious with this prayer from a little devotional booklet titled ‘A Journey of LOVE: Walking with St. Therese of Lisieux.’ I believe I’ve shared it before, way back when, but as we all know, prayer never gets old or goes out of style (smile). This deals with the struggle with God’s absence, something that quite a few believers have problems with.
Please pray with me. ‘Lord, help me to live always in the light of your presence. Should any darkness challenge my belief and LOVE for you, dispel that darkness so that I might witness to your merciful and gracious LOVE. Grant me the wisdom to confront a secular and egocentric world with your message of care and compassion for all people. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.’
Yes my people, in these dark and troublesome times, that kind of prayer is absolutely essential! We need to be assured of Jesus’ light so that we can witness on His behalf. And that allows us to segue nicely into our Bit.
But first let’s set the scene. Jesus is about to begin gathering His posse of disciples. ‘And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers (fishermen). And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.’ (Matt.4:18-20)
Just imagine that nuh friends; Jesus simply told them to follow Him and without any hesitation they just upped and did it right away. Hn! Can you imagine that happening today? I very much doubt it. Chuh! Getting people to follow Jesus nowadays is like pulling teeth.
And the scholars offer these explanations on those verses. ‘4:18-20. Simon called Peter, and Andrew became the first two disciples called publicly by Jesus. Andrew had introduced his brother to Jesus on an earlier occasion (cf. John 1:40). The invitation, Follow me, called these earlier believers into a permanent ministry to be shared with Christ.
I will make you fishers of men clearly indicates the nature of this ministry. They would receive special training in bringing men into the kingdom. Having left their nets, these disciples entered into a new relationship and would never again be able to fully return to the occupation they once held so dear.’
But Jesus wasn’t done fishing yet. The Good Book declares: ‘And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.’ (Matt.4:21-22)
Wow! Can you imagine poor Zebedee’s confusion and consternation! Some man he doesn’t even know, passes by and calls his sons and they just up and leave him and their fishermen business behind! Steups!
And the scholars have a wonderful line on that. ‘The statement in verse 22 that they immediately responded to His call gives us a perfect picture of true obedience to the Lordship of Christ.’
And does it ever my fellow believers! Unfortunately though, not too many of us nowadays can lay claim to such obedience. And that’s certainly a pity, because both our individual lives and the world around us would be a much better place if our obedience was even a little higher than it currently is.
So friends, in light of what we’ve studied today, let’s spend some time pondering our own level of obedience nuh. It can’t hurt, even if we’re terribly disobedient. And then, in wisdom, let’s sincerely turn to the Lord and ask for His ever-present and ever-faithful help. He’ll never refuse us! Much LOVE!
…for any group to be successful…obedience to the leadership and the rules of the organization is absolutely necessary…
09 Apr 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A journey of love, a man after God's heart, a man of God, a second cahnce, an integral part of our lives, anger, basking in the Father's presence, be of good courage, blessed be the Lord, Christian's desire, climate change, cold, compromise, courage, disobedience, doubt, fear, hate, he shall strengthen your heart, how great is thy goodness, I will give thee rest, Jonah, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, Moses, my presence shall go with thee, negativity, Nineveh, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, pray, prayer, prophet, provider, rainy, repenting, reproach, responsibilities, rewards the proud doer, Saint of the Little Flower, secret of thy presence, seek God's face, shame, snowy, spring, St. Therese, strife, the Alpha and Omega, the Creator, the First and the Last, the irony of it all, the Lord preserves the faithful, the Lord's presence, trials, tribulations, troubled times, trust, vocation, walk in your steps, wet, winter, wisdom
Exodus 33:14. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
And then it was Saturday, and the next couple days in my area are supposed to be cold and snowy and wet and rainy. Steups! Whatever happened to that thing called spring eh? In winter we didn’t get any snow, and now in what’s supposed to be spring, it’s too often cold and snowy! Chuh! And yet they insist that climate change is not real.
But anyway, whether it is real or not, we believers in Jesus Christ don’t have to let it worry us. Oh yes, the weather will become irascible like many of us, (smile) but we can’t afford to allow that to dictate our lives, that ought to be done by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
So to help us handle all the unwanted stuff we have to handle, let’s pray this prayer taken from a Devotional titled ‘A Journey of LOVE. Walking with St. Therese of Liseux’ – The Saint of the Little Flower. I’ve shared it before, but in these troubled times, times of hate and anger and doubt and all the negative stuff that’s predominant in our world, we need something to counteract that negativity.
And the only thing able to do that is LOVE, and we have been assigned the vocation of LOVE. So let’s pray for help in our vocation. Please pray with me: ‘Jesus, I desire above all else to centre my life in you. Only you can give me the courage to face up to my responsibilities, to be compassionate and forgiving, to let go of what is not important and to embrace what is important.
I am called to accept and to cherish your LOVE for me and to allow your LOVE to go out from me to all your people, Help me to walk in your steps without compromise and to be open to your presence in all of the people I meet. I make my prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.’
Yes friends, the irony of it all is that we cannot do God’s work without God’s help! And the most effective way to receive that help is through prayer. The Lord has promised that when we diligently and sincerely seek Him, He will be found by us. That’s why prayer is so important in a believer’s life.
That’s also why Bruh Paul told the Ephesians to pray ALWAYS; (Eph.6:18) the Thessalonians to pray WITHOUT CEASING; (1 Thess.5:17) and his young protégé Timothy to pray EVERYWHERE. (1 Tim:2:8) So to all intents and purposes, prayer MUST BE an integral part of a believer’s life, because in doing so we will always be in the presence of God, which is ever so important for our earthly journey.
Moses, one of God’s greatest prophets was adamant about not continuing the journey through the wilderness if the Lord’s presence was not going to be with him. That is even after God promised in our Bit: ‘And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.’
Ah mih people, without God’s wonderful presence in our lives, innumerable trials and tribulations will come our way, from which we’ll have little or no leeway to escape. However, when we are basking in the Father’s presence, we are assured of His help to get through the difficulties, though not necessarily complete escape.
That’s because He has promised to work everything out for the good of those who LOVE Him and are called according to His purpose. (Rom.8:28) And if there’s one thing we can rest comfortably on, is that our ever-faithful God NEVER reneges on His promises.
Now let’s look at some scripture that exalts the glory and wisdom of being in God’s presence. And we can’t talk about that without including words from Bruh David’s heartfelt declarations. This comes from Psalm 31 – In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust.
‘Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence (secret place) from the pride (plots) of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion (shelter) from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the Lord: for he hath showed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city.
For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee. O LOVE the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart.’ (Ps.31:19-24)
And we can’t argue with Bruh David because in spite of his mistakes, he was still considered a man after God’s own heart, so intense was His longing for Him.
Meanwhile, in Jeremiah, when the Lord is dealing with the false prophets, He promises: ‘Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence. And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.’(Jer.23:39-40)
Yes friends, that’s the kind of thing that happens when we are cast out of God’s presence. Please pray that it never happens to us. And we’ll end with this great example from the prophet Jonah.
The Lord had said to Jonah: ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry (out) against it: for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.’ (Jon.1:2-3)
Now how foolish was that eh my brethren? As a prophet, a man of God, Jonah should have known better than that. And we all know the story of the terrible storm that arose, due to Jonah’s disobedience, and how he was thrown overboard and spent three days and nights in the belly of a great fish, before coming to his senses and repenting. And the Lord in His great mercy and LOVING-kindness forgave him and gave him a second chance.
Oh my fellow believers, fleeing from the Lord is not easy if He doesn’t want us to flee. But why should we want to flee from Him anyhow eh, when He is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Creator and Provider of all? That’s certainly not wisdom. So please, let’s be wise today and seek the Lord’s presence rather than try to flee from it. Much LOVE!
…the Christian’s desire ought to be…to continually seek God’s face…and to continually bask in His presence…
21 Jan 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A journey of love, a righteous man, a secular, atonement, Beelzebub, bleak, bleary, bounden duty, care, Christ died for us, compassion, conviction, darkness, disobedience, dispel the darkness, egocentric world, fellow believers, for God so loved the world, forgiveness, glory hallelujah, God's chosen people, godless society, grace, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, holy spirit, Israel, justification, justified, live in the light of God's presence, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, New Testament, Old Testament, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, reconciled, reconciliation, repentance, sacrifice, Saint of the Little Flower, salvation, saved, saved from wrath, should not perish, sin, sinners, soldiers of Christ, St. Therese, substitutionary death, the Word of god, this is the day the Lord has made, turn a blind eye, ungodly world, vicarious deathm, we will rejoice and be glad in it, whosoever believeth on Jesus, wisdom
John 3:16. 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.
And then it was Thursday! Glory Hallelujah! Yes friends, one more day of being alive and kicking on this glorious planet under the auspices of Almighty God, it’s Creator and Sustainer!
What blessed folks we are, so blessed that we can say with sincerity, truth and great enthusiasm; ‘this is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’
Yes my people, we will be glad and rejoice although outside looks bleak and bleary, another uninspiring winter morning. (smile)
And we can do that because our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, through His Holy Spirit, lives and reigns in our hearts, bodies, minds and souls. Oh glory to God my fellow believers in Jesus Christ!
Now here is a prayer that I thought we could all use. It’s taken from a devotional booklet titled ‘A Journey of LOVE. Walking with St. Therese of Lisieux,’ the saint of the Little Flower.
Please pray with me: ‘Lord, help me to live always in the light of your presence. Should any darkness challenge my belief and LOVE for you, dispel that darkness so that I might witness to your merciful and gracious LOVE. Grant me the wisdom to confront a secular and egocentric world with your message of care and compassion for all people. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.’
Oh friends, do we ever need God’s grace and wisdom to confront the dark, evil and ungodly world that now surrounds us! It’s definitely not easy living a life for Christ in an increasingly secular world, but we have to do it as good soldiers of Christ and His LOVE Revolution, because that is the only thing that will turn our godless society back to out wonderful, generous and forgiving Maker.
And believe me, we do need to turn back in conviction and repentance if we want our world to not only survive, but also to thrive. Friends, we can’t continue the woeful state of sin in which we’re living and expect God to turn a blind eye.
As I’ve asked before, why do we think that He would punish His Chosen People, Israel for their disobedience and not us eh? Go ponder that.
Anyway, let’s get to out Bit. ‘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.’
Oh my precious people, what wonderfully uplifting words; words of encouragement, of unending LOVE and a promise of a wonderful life in the hereafter! How could we ever not believe and accept them as gospel truth eh, especially since Jesus sacrificed His sinless self to fulfill them?
I’m sorry for those who refuse to believe them, but it’s also our bounden duty to live lives and talk a talk that encourages them to change their beliefs and ways, for that’s what Jesus desires of us. Remember the Father doesn’t want to lose even ONE of His precious creation to that evil fool Beelzebub.
Now let’s turn to some scripture that emphasizes the importance and truth of our Bit. Listen to Bruh Paul writing to the church at Rome. ‘For when we were yet without strength, in due time (at the right time) Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure (perhaps) for a good man some would even dare to die.
But God commendeth his (demonstrates His own) LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now (having been) justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being (having been) reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement (reconciliation).’ (Rom.5:6-11)
Oh Friends, how could we ever doubt God’s great LOVE for us eh, when while we were yet sinners, His enemies, He sent His Son, Jesus to die for us? We shouldn’t, but unfortunately many of us do.
Now I know some of that scripture might be somewhat confusing, so here are some explanations from the scholars. ‘5:8. Christ died for us: His death was vicarious. That is, He did not die merely for our benefit but in our place. His was a substitutionary sacrifice.’
‘5:9-10. By his blood…by his life: The death of Christ and His shed blood effect (created, enables) salvation (Eph.1:7, 2:13; Col.1:14, Heb.9:12-15), but the life of Christ sustains it. The reference is to the abiding results of Jesus’ death and resurrection (cf.4:25).’
And Rom.4:25 says: ‘Who was delivered for (because of) our offenses, and was raised again for (because of) our justification.’
And we’ll end with a primer on Substitutionary Death from the scholars. ‘5:8. One of the historic fundamentals of the faith is the vicarious Atonement, in which Christ died as a substitute for sin. Illustration: In the Old Testament, this was taught typologically by the offering of an animal sacrificed for sin, looking forward to that ultimate sacrifice for sin, Christ (cf. Gen.22:8). In the New testament, Christ is described as having died in the place of the Christian (v.8), of the church (Eph.5:25), and of the world (Heb.2:9).
The concept of Substitutionary death is illustrated by the offering of a ram in the place of Isaac (Gen.22:13). Though Abraham was willing to offer his son as requested, God was prepared to accept a substitute that He had provided.
Application: Because Jesus died for everyone, Christians should take the message of the gospel to “every creature” (Mark 16:15). (First Ref. Gen.3:21; Primary Ref. Rom.5:8; cf. Eph.1;5).’
There you have it friends, in black and white! Please let’s study and ponder all that we’ve said today, so that the Word of God and His great LOVE for us will sink deep into our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, and give us the encouragement and strength we so badly need to enlighten this darkened world. Much LOVE!
…Adam’s disobedience caused sin… Jesus sacrificial death brought…reconciliation, forgiveness, salvation and eternal life…
24 May 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A journey of love, Asa, Azaraih, bite the bullet, care, Christian fellowship, communal living, compassion, corrupt, courage, darkness, egocentric world, eternal fate, eternity, faith, family time, forgive their sin, God will be found of you, God's sanctuary, heal their land, hope, hunker down, I am God, if ye seek god, Jeremiah, Lamentations, LOVE, merciful God, mission, my people which are called by my name, none doeth good, peace, perseverance, pray, pride of his countenance, relaxation, rest, salvation for Israel, secular, seek my face, seek unto God, shall humble themselves, shame, sharing, Society of the Little Flower, St. Therese, strength, Sunday, the generation that seek God, the light of god's presence, the motives of our hearts, the seed of jacob, the Spirit of God, then will I hear from heaven, there is no god, to keep keeping on, trust, trust discipline, turn away from their wicked ways, ungodly world, wait quietly, wisdom, worshipping God
2 Chronicles 7:14. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Well another beautiful Sunday is in the offing Friends! And how are we going to spend it eh? That’s the question of the day. Hopefully we’ll do so in rest, relaxation, family time, and above all, time in God’s sanctuary with other believers, worshipping God and giving Him all the glory He so richly deserves.
That should always be our mission on a Sunday, for then we get the necessary wherewithal to go out on Monday filled and brimming over with peace, wisdom, faith, trust, discipline, courage and LOVE, all the things we need to have a successful work week.
Oh my people please don’t ignore gathering with other believers as often as humanly possible, for it is in the community of Christian fellowship that we find the strength and perseverance to keep on keeping on in this evil, ungodly and calamitous world. Note the communal living and sharing of the early Christians. (Acts 2:41-47)
Now here is a prayer I shared with you a long time back, but I think it’s time has come again. (smile) It comes from a Devotional called ‘A Journey of LOVE – Walking with St. Therese of Lisieux’ – Patron Saint of the Society of the Little Flower.
Please pray with me. ‘Lord, help me to live always in the light of your presence. Should any darkness challenge my belief and LOVE for you, dispel that darkness so that I might witness to your merciful and gracious LOVE. Grant me the wisdom to confront a secular and egocentric world with your message of care and compassion for all people. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.’
Oh my brethren, I do hope that we all sincerely prayed that prayer, for we do need God’s wisdom and strength to face the wicked and deceitful world that surrounds us. And remember that it’s not the words of our mouths that are important to the Lord, but the motives of our hearts.
Now enough preaching… oops sorry, teaching for today (smile), let’s move on to our Bit. And it is the same one as the last few days; don’t know when it’s going to end either. So all you who like a new Bit every day, you’ve just go to hunker down and bite the bullet with this one, because it is a very important one, one that can decide your eternal fate.
‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’
Oh Friends, that’s a call, an open invitation for repentance by our wonderful, marvellous and merciful God. But please don’t wait too long to accept it nuh, because once Jesus comes again, that invitation will cease to exist, and Jesus can come back at any time, so you have to be ever ready if you want to spend eternity with Him.
Now let’s continue to look at some scriptures that have to do with ‘seek my face,’ in our Bit. And we’ll begin with the warning of the prophet Azariah to Asa, king of Judah. ‘And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: and he went out to meet (before) Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.’ (2 Chr.15:1-2) Oh my people, it surely couldn’t be any simpler and clearer than that!
And what are friends for if not to correct us, even when they don’t know all the facts of the situation. Hn, hn! Listen as Job’s buddy Eliphaz, continues to rebuke him. ‘I (But as for me I) would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause: Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number.’ (Job.5:8-9)
Now here are a few from Bruh David. From Psalm 9 – Praise for God’s justice, he declares: ‘And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.’ (Ps.9:10) Then from Psalm 10 – A prayer for the overthrow of the wicked, he adds. ‘The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. (All his thoughts are, There is no God). (Ps.10:4)
And finally, from Psalm 14 – The foolishness of men, he tells us: ‘The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy (corrupt); there is not one that doeth good, no not one.’ (Ps.14:2-3) Now isn’t that a most fitting description of the majority of our society? It surely is!
Then Isaiah, in talking about everlasting salvation for Israel, proclaims on the Lord’s behalf. ‘I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, seek ye me in vain: I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right… Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.’ (Is.45: 19, 22) And our God is right on all counts my people!
Meanwhile, the psalmist Asaph entreats the Lord: ‘Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O Lord.’ (Ps.83:16)
And we’ll end with these wise words of Jeremiah, taken from his Lamentations. ‘The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.’ (Lam.3:25-26)
Oh my people, we can get no better advice this morning, so please let’s read, mark and inwardly digest it, then put it into action nuh, so that we can reap the wonderful benefits thereof. Have a most blessed and fruitful day my fellow believers in Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!
Let’s make these words of Bruh David come true nuh…this is the generation of them that seek him…that seek thy face, O Jacob…Selah… (Ps.24:6)
24 Feb 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A journey of love, almighty god, anger, Another Country, be not conformed to this world, be transformed by the renewing of your mind, be ye angry and sin not, bitterness, care, Christians, compassion, darkness, disappointment, Ephesians, evil speaking, faith, faithfulness, five foolish virgins, fleshly lusts, friends, give place to the devil, God's little Acre, good and acceptable to God, gospel truth, Hades, heaven, holy spirit, introspection, James Baldwin, Jesus Christ, Lent, Lenten season, live for Jesus, LOVE, LOVE for God, Lucifer, lying, malice, memorable words of Jesus, nature, practical guidelines, prayer, promises, retrospection, rough and trying times, spirit of your mind, St. Therese, steadfast faith, surrender, the fire next time, the North Country, the prince of darkness, The Saint of the Little Flower, trust, truth, ungodly world, watch, wherein the Son of man cometh, wisdom, wrongdoing
Romans 12:2. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Ah Friends, it’s Tuesday, and we’re in the last days of our stay in Paradise! And as I gaze out at the wonders of nature, hear the birds and insects sing their songs of praise to their Creator, with the seas at high tide bashing against the rocky shore, I sadly realize that in another couple days I won’t be waking up to this beautiful panorama of God’s making, but to a scene of snow and ice, of cold and darkness.
Ah Lord eh! And the ole heart stutters and flutters as it comes to grip with the great seismic change. (smile) But you know the ole fella will take it in his stride, because that’s where the Lord has me based for the present time. This was only a vacation, a blessed change and reprieve from the uncomfortable aspects of winter in the North Country.
And if I claim to have faith and trust in our omnipotent God, and have surrendered my will to Him, then I have no choice but to grin and bear whatever He allows to come against me, trusting in His faithful promises that He won’t give me more than I can bear, neither will He leave nor forsake me, while working everything out eventually for my good.
Oh my people, what a good and mighty God we serve and worship! And I’ve been walking with Him long enough now to be fully aware and fully cognizant of His everlasting faithfulness. He’s brought me through enough rough situations before, so why should He stop now eh, especially when I’m more faithful to Him now than I’ve ever been?
So although there’s sadness and disappointment in my upcoming departure from God’s Little Acre, I am also bolstered by the fact that my God is able to do whatever He promises, and will provide for me in whatever situation I may be in.
Consequently, I’d like to share this prayer from a devotional titled ‘A Journey of LOVE – Walking with St. Therese of Liseux; the Saint of the Little Flower, who promised to spend her heaven doing good on earth, letting fall a shower of roses as her signature. However Friends, in these very rough and trying times, we shouldn’t wait till we get to heaven to do good on earth, we need to do that RIGHT NOW!
And what better time to begin than in this Lenten season of both intro and retrospection!
Please pray with me: ‘Lord, help me to live always in the light of your presence. Should any darkness challenge my belief and LOVE for you, dispel that darkness so that I might witness to your merciful and gracious LOVE. Grant me the wisdom to confront a secular and egocentric world with your message of care and compassion for all people. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.’
Yes my people, there’s so much darkness and evil in our current world that it’s only with the omnipotent help of Almighty God, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit that we can ever hope to dispel and remove them from our lives. And it can ONLY be done through LOVE and compassion! So please let’s come together seriously nuh, and do what we know is meet and right for us to do.
The sad part of the situation is that we full well know what is right, but yet we allow the façade of the world’s false and short lasting beauty to lure us into wrongdoing and ungodly behavior. If we are truly children of God, then we desperately need to be walking according to the dictates of our Bit: ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’
That’s the gospel truth my brethren! And it reminds me of a quote of James Baldwin (1928-1987), the controversial African American novelist, playwright, poet and social critic, who continually reflected on his experience as a black man in white America, penning such insightful works as ‘The Fire Next Time and Another Country.’
Well James is reputed to have said: ‘The future is like heaven – everyone exalts it but no one wants to go there now.’ And that’s a very accurate reflection of Christians nowadays! We all want to live a godly life, but just not yet, first we want to enjoy the pleasures and lusts of the fleshly world.
But Friends we can’t afford to wait one minute longer to live for Jesus, because we don’t know when He’s coming back. It could be today or tomorrow. And if we’re found wanting when He returns, like the five foolish virgins who didn’t prepare for a long wait with extra oil for their lamps, (Matt.25:1-12) we’ll be simply excluded from His train of glory, and forced to spend eternity in Hades with Lucifer, the prince of darkness.
And as I keep reminding us, that my brethren is the worst thing that could ever happen to a human being! So let’s get to it nuh, let’s begin living serious godly lives, putting into effect these wise and true words of Bruh Paul to the Ephesians: ‘That ye put off concerning the former conversation (conduct) the old man, which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts;
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth to his neighbor: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry and sin not; let not the sun go down upon your wrath; Neither give place to the devil…
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph.4:22-27, 31-32)
Oh my Friends, that’s how we’re supposed to live! Those are just some simple, every day, practical guidelines as to how we can put aside the ‘old man’ and assume ‘the new man,’ in our everyday lives. They’re definitely not very difficult to do, so let’s begin doing them seriously, diligently and Right Now nuh, so that we won’t be caught napping whenever Jesus comes.
Let’s put into effect these memorable words of Jesus. ‘Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.’ (Matt.25:13)
That’s heavenly truth and wisdom my fellow man, words for us to ponder today, and see if we’re ready to receive Jesus, just in case He returns today. Much LOVE!
…to create a better world…it’s essential that we put into effect…LOVE for God…for ourselves…and for our neighbours… plus sincere care and compassion for each other…
25 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a journey of hope and love, a saved world, accepting the challenge with a strong faith, advocating, all knees shall bow, all lips declare, almighty god, ascension, Beelzebub, bequeath our children, blessings, cast off forever, compassion, downward spiral, evil, evil powers, examine our ways, exhorting, expectant faith, eyes of faith, faith, fellow believers, forefront of our society, friends, gift, glory, God does not delight in afflicting His people, God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, grateful, grief, heavenly wisdom, honour, hope, hungry hope, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, just and righteous Deity, justified, Lamentations, legacy, lift up our hearts, LOVE, loving kindness, magnanimous Creator, magnificent and magnanimous God, materially, mercies, mire, new day, new every morning, omnipotent god, one true God, only son, pangs of misery, prosper, punishment for sins, put into action, quicksand, raise up the name of jesus, reignite God's image in our hearts, rekindle God's fire in our souls, resurrection, righteous, sacrificial death, Saint of the Little Flower, selfless, sentiments, sinful nature, sinful people, slaves, Son Jesus, spiritually, St. Therese, stooges, sucking away our lifeblood, take us to task, thankful, thanks and praise, the way to salvation, triumphant victory over death and the grave, turn again to God, uncoditional love, ungodly, walk in the steadfastness of god's grace and love, walk of faith, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, wisdom
Lamentations 3:32. But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, glory be! Yes, it’s another new day in paradise! Another marvellous and wondrous gift from our magnanimous Creator!
Oh my people, it just stirs me up so much when I consider the wonderful God we serve and worship!
Wow! Which other supposed deity gives His people new mercies and blessings every single morning eh? Who shows such undeserved compassion each and every day eh? NONE but our omnipotent God, my brethren!
That’s why we ought to give Him enormous thanks and continually praise His Holy Name. Remember, He doesn’t have to do what He’s done and doing for us, neither do our puny efforts deserve His LOVING-kindness. But it’s His unsurpassed unconditional LOVE that causes Him to bless us so richly, in spite of our sinful nature and behaviour.
And please remember too, that while we were yet stooges and slaves of Beelzebub, He sent His ONLY Son Jesus to die for us, so that we could be made justified, righteous, and all the other wonderful things that Jesus’ selfless, sacrificial death, resurrection and ascension accomplished.
So there are indeed numerous reasons for us to be thankful and grateful! Therefore, instead of trying to belittle Jesus’ importance, or take God out of our society, as we are allowing the evil powers that be to do, we ought to be jumping and shouting, beseeching and pleading, picketing and protesting, advocating and exhorting, to raise up the name of Jesus, just like the Father did after His triumphant victory over death and the grave!
We ought to be encouraging ALL knees to bow, and ALL lips to solemnly and sincerely declare that Jesus is indeed the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
Oh Friends, we ought to be filled with such a hungry hope and expectant faith, that we can clearly see, totally envision through our eyes of faith, a saved world; a world where Almighty God and Jesus Christ are once again at the forefront of our society!
Oh my people, my fellow believers, that’s the ONLY WAY our society will once again prosper, both spiritually and materially. If we don’t feel that way, don’t envision it happening, then we’ll just continue the downward spiral in which we’re now totally engaged.
Oh my brethren, the quicksand in the evil and ungodly mire of the world is slowly sucking away our lifeblood, unfortunately causing us to drift further and further away from the ONE TRUE GOD, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and if we don’t soon put a stop to it, then our children, and their children too, will be the ones to suffer the real pangs of misery and defeat, since we’ll already be dead and gone.
Now is that the legacy we want to bequeath to our children, whom most of us LOVE like the Lord LOVES us? I sincerely doubt it.
However Friends, it’s also necessary to remember that though we are currently a very sinful people, and that sometimes the Lord will take us to task for our sins, He will not cast us off forever. (Lam.3:31)
And all God’s people loudly declared: ‘All glory, praise, thanks and honour be to our magnificent and magnanimous God!’
Yes Friends, those are indeed wonderful sentiments, but we need to not only mouth them, but even more importantly put them into action!
And as our Bit so wisely and rightly states: ‘But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.’
Ah mih breddren, it gives our God no joy, no pleasure to punish us, but as a just and righteous Deity, He has to keep things right. Now listen to the words of Jeremiah, as he laments the state of his people Israel, which very much approximates to our current state.
‘For he doth not afflict willingly (with delight), nor grieve the children of men. To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth. To turn aside the right of (justice due) a man before the face of the most High. To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not.
Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil (woe) and good (well being)? Wherefore doth (how then can) a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
Let us search and try (examine) our ways, and turn again to the Lord. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.’ (Lam.3:33-41)
Oh Friends and fellow believers, that bit of scripture both highlights our current situation, and also points the way to our salvation!
Please, let’s accept the challenge with a strong faith, and ask God to ‘reignite His image in our hearts, and rekindle His fire in our souls,’ so that we can turn this evil and ungodly world around, and once again walk in the steadfastness of His abounding grace and undying LOVE!
Now that my people, is truly heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
’…the walk of faith is ultimately…a journey of HOPE and LOVE…’
P.S. Those words in inverted commas above, have been taken from a devotional booklet on healing, based on the writings and actions of St. Therese, the Saint of the Little Flower.
Please, please, my people, let’s use them to truly reignite the flame and fire of God’s LOVE within us nuh, and thus bring some much needed change to our badly drifting and listing world! Much LOVE!
27 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a shower of roses, apostasy, Azariah, believers in Jesus Christ, bow down unto other gods, calamitous, common sense, corrupted themselves, covenant, crapaud smoke we pipe, deliverance, deliverers, disgusting behaviour, disobedience, doing good on earth, dominant, draw breath, easily enticed, enemies, Eva Rose York, fool, fool's wisdom, God's earth, goodwill, gospel truth, gracious God, greetings, hand of Joshua, heaven, heaven-sent deliverers, humble hearts, I shall not pass this way again, idolatrous and disobedient ways, immorality, Israel, joy, judges, lighten someone's heavy load, live for Jesus, LOVE, mercy, moved to pity, nation, obeying God's commandments, oblivion, one and only true God, oppressed, oppression, out of the hands of their enemies, painful pangs, peace, played the harlot, political instability, prove, rebellion, relieve some pain, remove some barrier, repentance, repentant souls, Saint of the Little Flower, salutations, Scrip-Bit family, second generation, smell the roses, social degradation, spiritual victories, St. Therese, test, the anger of the Lord, the Book of Judges, the Lord delivered them, the Lord raised up judges, the son of Oded, the Spirit of God, theme, there is no god, transgressed, troubled and ungodly earth, turmoiled-filled, wake up, weak, went a whoring, wisdom, world situation, worshipping pagan gods
2 Chronicles 15:1. And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded.
Greetings and salutations to all you beautiful people in my Scrip-Bit Family! It is with great joy and LOVE that I come to you this cold Thursday morning in the North Country – only somewhere between minus 10 and minus 19 degrees Celsius.
Now my outside might be cold, but Friends, believe me, inside I’m just burning up with LOVE! And that’s gospel truth! (smile) That’s because I keep trying to live for and like Jesus. Now I’m not always successful, but the basic attributes of LOVE, peace and goodwill to all are certainly there.
It’s also been said that St. Therese, the Saint of the Little Flower declared that she would spend her heaven doing good on earth, letting fall a shower of roses. Now that’s all well and good if you are in heaven, but even more so, Jesus desires that we do much good while we’re right down here on this troubled and ungodly earth. We certainly can’t afford to wait until we get to heaven to do good on earth, or else we might never get to heaven.
And in line with that train of thought, here is a rather appropriate quote attributed to one Eva Rose York. Now from the many Eva Rose York’s I found, I couldn’t specify exactly which one said it. And though I believe I’ve shared this quote before, it’s one of those that’s necessary to repeat every so often, so that we don’t forget it.
And it says: ‘I shall not pass this way again; Then let me now relieve some pain, Remove some barrier from the road, Or brighten (lighten) someone’s heavy load.’
Yes my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, that’s exactly what EACH OF US needs to say and do EVERYDAY we draw breath on God’s earth. For that is exactly what Jesus expects of His true and beautiful followers.
And now that we’ve straightened out that little matter, (smile) let’s turn to our Bit. ‘And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded.’
And today we’ll look at another pertinent example of how God allowed His Holy Spirit to come upon one of His chosen people, to try and bring them to their senses.
Oh Friends, it’s amazing how many times Israel turned from following the God of their forefathers to worshipping the pagan gods of those who lived around them. Instead of being dominant and bringing the pagans to their God, they were weak and easily enticed into serving the pagan gods. And it’s also amazing how many times the Lord saved them from themselves and their enemies, despite their gross disobedience.
As the Good Book says: ‘ Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled (plundered) them. And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after (played the harlot with) other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord; but they did not so.
And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the Lord because of (the Lord was moved to pity by) their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed (harassed) them.
And it came to pass when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more (behaved more corruptly) than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.
And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice; I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:
That through them I may prove (test) Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not. Therefore the Lord left those nations, without driving them out hastily (immediately); neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.’ (Judg. 2: 16-23)
Ah mih breddren, doesn’t that sound very familiar? It sure does! I never intended to write all of it, but after reading it, it sounded so much like what we’re currently doing, that I just had to share it all.
And it’s also what the Lord is doing to a certain extent right now; leaving us up to our own idolatrous and disobedient ways and purposes, consequently allowing us to suffer whatever fate befalls us. Please note too, like Israel, the many nations around us, who want to conquer us and have us bow to their pagan gods.
And I must share these words from the scholars re the passage of scripture above. ‘2:17-19. The recurring cycle of Israel’s apostasy, oppression and repentance, and deliverance by heaven-sent deliverers forms the key theme of the Book of Judges.
It was a period of repeated spiritual apostasy, growing immorality, social degradation, and political instability. Israel’s “second generation” had forgotten the spiritual victories of the generation of the conquest. Only the mercy of a gracious God kept Israel from disappearing as a nation.’
Oh mih people, mih people, if I didn’t tell you otherwise, I’m sure you’d think that those word were written about this current world situation, because it resembles the present time down to the nth detail! And it’s only a gracious and merciful God who is preventing us from sliding into oblivion.
But please note, He’s getting tired of our disgusting behaviour, and like He did with Israel, is allowing us to suffer the painful pangs of disobedience in a turmoil-filled and calamitous world. And if we don’t smarten up and do like the Israelites, return to seriously serving and worshipping Him, then… crapaud smoke we pipe!
So please my people, let’s wake up NOW and smell the roses nuh, get some common sense and wisdom, so that with humble hearts and repentant souls, we can return to worshipping and serving the ONE and ONLY TRUE and LIVING GOD, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Let’s stop ploughing ahead in disobedience and rebellion, concentrating on removing God from our society, rather than increasing and glorifying Him. For that my Friends, is a fool’s wisdom. And as followers of Jesus, we should not be numbered amongst fools. Much LOVE!
…the fool hath said in his heart…there is NO GOD…(Ps.14:1)…and that’s exactly why he is a fool…
P.S. Sorry for the slight change of direction, but that’s where the Spirit led me. With the Lord’s favour though, we’ll get back to it tomorrow. Much LOVE!
26 Oct 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 1 corinthians 13, absolute truth, awesome truth, Beatitudes, believers, blessed, born again, brave, Christ's representative, Christian attitude, Christians, compassion, confess wrongdoing, divine Love, divine majesty, divine undestanding, divine wisdom, embrace Jesus, enemies, faults, fool's wisdom, forgive our debtors, forgiveness, frailities, generosity, God's grace, God's mercy, good news, good things, gospel truth, holy spirit, illness, in tune with God, Jesus Christ, kind, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, lost, merciful, mercy, offspring, poor and needy, punishment, shortcomings, show mercy, sin, sleeping in, Society of the Little Flower, spiritual strength, St. Therese, St. Thresa of Avila, the Lord's prayer, the right way, time of trouble, troubling circumstances, unfortunate masses, unregenerate men, wonder-working spirit, you reap what you sow
Matthew 5:7. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Well hello there you beautiful believers in Jesus Christ; King of Kings and Lord of Lords! How goes it this wonderful Saturday morning eh? I guess many of you are enjoying a rare morning of sleeping in, that is until your young offspring start clamouring for food and attention. All I can say there though, is better you than me yes. (smile) I went through that many moons ago.
Anyway, today I want to share a poem I got from the Between Friends Magazine published by the Friends of the Society of the Little Flower. It comes from an article written by its Director, Father Bob Colaresi. He himself was quoting a Spanish Carmelite Nun, St. Teresa of Avila. She’s different to the society’s patron Saint, St. Therese, also a Carmelite Nun, but of French origin.
It’s claimed that St. Teresa taught this poem. ‘Christ has no body but yours, No Hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which he looks Compassion on this world, Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good, Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, Yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.’
And that Friends, is the gospel truth, because Christ left us here on earth to do His work; to spread the good, exciting news of His gospel; the wonderful rewards of salvation and eternal life, if we embrace His Deity. It’s now our duty to go around the world, with our eyes, feet ears, hands and bodies, be His representative, and let the lost and unfortunate masses know of all that He’s accomplished on our behalf.
But again, to do Jesus’ work successfully, we need physical, mental and spiritual strength backed by divine wisdom, which can only be had by being in tune with Almighty God. Today’s Bit, another Beatitude, tells us: ‘Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.’
And that is absolute truth in more ways than one. First of all, like Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer; ‘And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’ (Matt.6:12) If we don’t forgive we won’t be forgiven. The same goes for mercy; if we don’t show mercy to others, neither will the Lord show us any. It’s basically the universal motto of, you reap what you sow.
You cannot be neither merciful nor forgiving and yet expect to receive forgiveness and mercy. Hn! Although that seems to be the prevailing wisdom in our world today. Generally speaking, forgiveness is NOT getting the punishment we deserve, while mercy is getting the good things that we DON’T deserve.
Then we have this take from the scholars: ‘5:7. Those who are merciful…shall obtain mercy has reference to those who have been born again by the mercy of God. Because divine LOVE has been extended to them, they have the work of the Holy Spirit in them producing a mercy that defies explanation by unregenerate men. Jesus Himself became the ultimate example of this when He cried from the cross, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)’
Oh Friends, I like that part about ‘a mercy that defies explanation by unregenerate men.’ And that’s the God-awesome truth! For mankind still can’t figure out or understand how Christians can be so merciful and forgiving when faced with serious and troubling circumstances. But it all depends on that Holy Spirit of His Divine Majesty dwelling in us, which shows us the right way.
Unfortunately, mankind will never understand the Christian attitude unless and until he wholeheartedly embraces Jesus, and consequently receives that wonder-working Spirit in his own soul. It all bolls down to, NO JESUS, NO HOLY SPIRIT, and therefore no divine understanding!
And when we talk about God’s mercy, there’s no better example in receiving it, than Bruh David. Listen to him from Psalm 41, Abuse and Assurance. ‘Blessed is he that considereth the poor (helpless, powerless): the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.
The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing (his bed of illness): thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness (restore him in his sickbed). I said, Lord be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.’ (Psalm 41:1-4)
Oh my people, two things are evident there: One must be kind and/or show mercy to the poor and needy, and secondly, one must confess one’s own wrongdoing to Jehovah God. Bruh David knew that, and tried to live that way. That’s why the Lord was so merciful to him, in spite of all his shortcomings and wrongdoings.
Unfortunately though, today, many of us figure that confessing our wrongdoings is for the birds, therefore we lose out on God’s precious grace and mercy. And sadly my people, that’s a fool’s wisdom!
Oh Friends, the Lord doesn’t expect us to be perfect, because He never made us that way. But He does expect us to be man and woman enough to own up to our faults and frailties.
Please, let’s be brave and admit our wrongs, so we can receive God’s generous grace, forgiveness and mercy. Now that’s truly divine wisdom! Much LOVE!
…O give thanks unto the Lord…for He is good…for His mercy endureth for ever… (1 Chr.16:34)
Previous Older Entries
SCRIP-BITS 