The Need to Embrace God’s Faithfulness if You want to Walk in Safety and Security!

07 Apr 2025 Leave a comment

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

John 14:18.       I will not leave you comfortless (as orphans): I will come to you.

So, it’s up and at ‘em one more time, that means getting out to work on a Monday morning, something that many of us do with a monotonous regularity for numerous years of our life. Actually, for the best years of our lives. No wonder, after a while it becomes tedious and tiring and we just sometimes want to cry out for a change, for something to liven up the dreary same ole same ole routine. 

Yes, we often long for a loosening of the restrictive reins that have us tied to a job that does not satisfy our capabilities or skills and act as a de facto killer to our God-given dreams and desires.  But unfortunately, that’s the way our society is structured, and if you want to eat and have a roof over your head, then you’ve got to work, at least with some regularity. (smile) 

On a serious note though, in this latest round of one foolish egotist’s doings, a trade war has erupted all over the world, and many have already lost their jobs, due to no fault of their own, and sadly, it appears that many more will if this nonsense isn’t curtailed as soon as possible. And it’s only when we don’t have a job to go to, with no prospects for one very soon either, that we do appreciate the boring, same ole, same ole tasks that we are forced to perform most days of our lives to earn a living. 

Let’s hope that all those who find themselves summarily unemployed will wake up and see the light and turn their attentions seriously towards Jesus, for He is the ONLY ONE who can offer you comfort despite the trials and tribulations you might be facing. And I’ve been unemployed, so I know what I’m talking about. Jesus is always the best One to turn to when things aren’t going your way. 

He might not always solve your problems quickly, or even solve them at all, but if you are sincere, He will provide you with a modicum of hope and faith that will keep you going through the tough times, in a calm, non-anxious manner, and not allow you to give up. And that’s always the first step in recovery; having a modicum of hope and the resolve to never give up. 

You can trust Him to always be by your side. Remember what He promised the disciples before His ascension: ‘If you LOVE me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter (Helper), that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him: for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless (as orphans): I will come to you.’ (John 14:15-18) 

And He did come to them, and consequently to us, on that memorable day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit began to indwell all believers and the church exploded with new saints. And since then, the Holy Spirit has indwelt every believer, acting as a Guide, Leader and Comforter on behalf of Jesus. 

But there’s one thing that we must understand, that life is not easy, never was, and never will be, therefore we have to bear up under the stress and strain of whatever we’re going through, with the help of the Holy Spirit. As Bruh Paul sagely warns Timothy: ‘Thou therefore endure hardness (hardship), as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.’ (2 Tim. 2:3) That’s the living truth; we’ve got to stand up and fight the battles that come against us, all in the name of Jesus. 

Meanwhile, the author of Hebrews puts it thus: ‘Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)’ (Heb. 10:23) And Bruh Paul also stated that fact, first to the church at Corinth: ‘God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ.’ (1 Cor. 1:9) And then to the Thessalonians: ‘But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish (establish) you, and keep you from evil (the evil one).’ (2 Thess. 3:3) 

That means we can faithfully trust our Triune God to look after us and keep us safe when the storms of life revolt against us. Remember what Jesus said to the stormy waves and howling winds on the sea of Galilee? ‘Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.’ (Mark 4:39) So, if He can calm the real physical storm, why won’t He be able to calm our metaphorical ones eh? No reason whatsoever! 

Now, let’s go straight to the throne of grace for help, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn as we’ve been instructed to do. 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!’ 

So, it’s obvious from our prayer that there are certain things we need to do to get divine aid. We know them…so please let’s do them nuh! Much LOVE!

…in a world beset by darkness and evil…Jesus is the ONLY ONE who can overcome them…with His Light and LOVE…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 June 2016 Psalm 11:1

09 Jun 2016 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 11:1.    In the Lord I put my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?

Oh friends, let’s fittingly begin this glorious Thursday’s proceedings with some praise and worship nuh. Please sing with me this old, but still ever-important standard from our hymnal. 

‘Onward Christian soldiers! Marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus Going on before. Christ, the royal Master, Leads against the foe; Forward into battle, See, His banners go! Onward, Christian soldiers! Marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus, Going on before. 

At the name of Jesus Satan’s host doth flee; On then, Christian soldiers, On to victory! Hell’s foundations quiver At the shout of praise: Brothers, lift your voices, Loud your anthems raise! Like a mighty army Moves the Church of God: 

Brothers, we are treading Where the saints have trod; We are not divided, All one Body we— One in faith and Spirit, One eternally. Crowns and thrones may perish, Kingdoms rise and wane; But the Church of Jesus Constant will remain. 

Gates of hell can never ’Gainst the Church prevail; We have Christ’s own promise, Which can never fail. Onward, then, ye people! Join our happy throng; Blend with ours your voices In the triumph song. Glory, laud and honor Unto Christ, the King; This through countless ages Men and angels sing.’ 

Oh my people, what a wonderful hymn! Remember when we used to sing such military songs like this and ‘Stand up for Jesus?’ They are still very important to our movement, because we are still in a raging battle with the enemy, the prince of darkness, therefore we need military procedure to fight it properly. 

We also need to be well dressed everyday with our spiritual armour, backed up by sincere prayer, otherwise the enemy will have no trouble infiltrating our defences. 

Now let’s move forward on the offensive by declaring our Thursday Blessings that will keep us rolling on to victory. With true sincerity, trust and confidence in Jesus Christ, let’s passionately speak blessings over our lives 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!’ 

Oh my brethren, what a powerful declaration of blessings over our lives! Wow! Remember a blessing is not truly a blessing until it’s spoken over someone, so please let’s continue to speak since blessings over our LOVED ones and ourselves! That’s the only way they will truly take hold. 

And that brings us to what I think is a most appropriate Bit for all of what we’ve spoken about so far. ‘In the Lord I put my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?’ 

Yes friends, if we put our strong and steadfast trust in Almighty God, why need we to flee anywhere eh? No reason whatsoever! Our God is the mightiest Being that exists, so there’s need to run from anything at all! 

And Bruh David continues the psalm: ‘For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily (secretly) shoot at the upright in heart.’ (Ps.11:2) But the reality of that situation my fellow believers, is if we’re wearing our spiritual armour, no arrow of the wicked can penetrate it to harm us. 

And all God’s people boldly and gratefully declare: ‘All glory be to our great and wonderful God! Let His holy name be praised now and forever more!’ 

Then Bruh David further asks: ‘If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?’ (And answers) ‘The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try (test) the children of men. The Lord trieth (tests) the righteous: but the wicked and him that LOVETH violence his soul hateth. 

Upon the wicked he shall rain snares (burning coals), fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest (a burning wind): this shall be the portion of their cup. For the righteous Lord LOVETH righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.’ (Ps.113-7) 

Yes my faithful brethren, our God is a righteous God and thus despises wickedness. So once we are walking in His will, protected by His sure armour, we have nothing to fear from the wicked, for in the Lord’s time, He shall rain fire and brimstone, burning coals and a burning wind up them. So there’s no need for a true and sincere Christian to be afraid of anything or anybody! 

As the scholars explain: ‘Psalm 11. A vision of the Lord on His throne (v.4) is all the righteous need for security in the face of the threat of the wicked (v.2).’ 

Oh my people, please, please, let’s stop being fearful nuh. Instead let’s stand up and fight the foolish foe, who thinks he can push God’s people around! Let’s push back! Let’s stop the wicked from trying to take Almighty God completely out of our society! 

Let’s strengthen our belly and backbone and truly fight for what we believe in! It’s the only way we will ever accomplish much for Jesus; ever win the LOVE Revolution! 

So let’s end today’s proceedings the way we began nuh, with a powerful verse of military might. ‘Onward Christian soldiers! Marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus Going on before. Christ, the royal Master, Leads against the foe; Forward into battle, See, His banners go! Onward, Christian soldiers! Marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus, Going on before.’ Much LOVE!

…soldiers are not immune from fear…but they let their courage conquer their fear…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 October 2012 Jude 3

23 Oct 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Jude 3.   Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints.
 
Oh my fabulous Friends in Christ, congrats are in order! I looked through the obits this morning and I didn’t see any of our names, that means we’re still alive and kicking! Praise the Lord! But unfortunately there was one name I knew; Lincoln Alexander, who died last Friday at the ripe old age of 90. And who was Lincoln Alexander, you ask? Well let’s see where to start? I guess the beginning is as good a place as any. He was born in 1922 in downtown Toronto of West Indian parents, in a time when racism was still rife in the country. However Lincoln Alexander grew up to be, not only one of the FIRST BLACK lawyers in the city, but also the FIRST BLACK Member of Canada’s Parliament, the FIRST BLACK Cabinet Minster in the Canadian Government, and finally, the FIRST BLACK Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Ontario. Wow! Imagine a poor BLACK man of West Indian parentage accomplishing all that in those racist times nuh! It seems like he was always chocked full of confidence, but like many truly confident people was still able to be very humble and approachable. I remember when he first became Lieutenant Governor, a lot of folks weren’t happy, but by the end of his term, many of the same ones were pleased with the way he handled himself in the mainly ceremonial post. I don’t know why, in this supposed modern day and age, when BLACK people are very prominent and successful in all walks of life, all over the world, the white populace still gets all up in arms over a BLACK leader. Take for example Barack Obama in the U.S. It doesn’t matter one iota that his mother’s family was and is white, the race card is still being strenuously played. It seems that a dollop of the tar brush is powerful enough to overcome any other colours. Before Obama, they had a fool who ruled for eight years, ran the country right into the ground. But his lack of brainpower and leadership skills didn’t matter because he was white. Then they’re all getting on Obama’s case because he didn’t fix all the wrongdoing in four years, especially with no meaningful cooperation from the other side. Chuh! Anyway, I want to end the comment on Lincoln Alexander with a statement from the current Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, David Onley, as posted in the Toronto Star newspaper “When racism was endemic in Canadian society, he broke through barriers that treated visible minorities as second-class citizens, strangers in their own land.’ And that’s the gospel truth Friends! Onley knows something about discrimination, because he has some physical movement problems and operates from a wheelchair. That was also a sticking point for some people when he was appointed to the post. Anyhow Linc -as he liked to be called- rest in peace my brother. You have been a shining beacon of light to ALL people in this dark world, and for that Jesus will reward you abundantly in the next life. And now, turning to our Bit: ‘Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once (for all time) delivered to the saints.’ I guess you can say Lincoln Alexander did that in his own way. He stood up for his rights and what he believed in, and didn’t let his racist enemies beat him down and give up the fight for a right and good life. Oh Friends, it’s the same way we believers need to stand up strong and fight for our belief in Jesus, because there’s a whole evil world out there trying to put Him down, make Him of no consequence. And sadly, through our less than sterling resistance, they have succeeded in curtailing His importance, position, and power in many aspects of our society and our lives. And if we don’t get serious and truly ramp up our fight against the powerful evildoers, Christ’s church will eventually be decimated and of no use. Now that’s something all of us claim we don’t want to happen, but it won’t be prevented by us merely sitting on our comfortable fat fannies and not putting up strong resistance, and fighting back too. Anyway, what I really wanted to talk about today, is why Jude thought it so very important to write to his friends and fellow believers about earnestly contending for their faith. However, because of time and space constraints, I’ll leave it for tomorrow, when hopefully I won’t have to eulogize anyone else, especially one of our Scrip-Bit family. And we’ll end with an appropriate exhortation on the subject from Bruh Paul to the church at Corinth. ‘Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men (be brave), be strong. Let all your things be done with charity (LOVE).’ (1 Cor.16:13-14) And that’s as it should be my brethren! So let’s relight that fire, that flame of passion we once had for our faith nuh, and rise up in Jesus’ name, like the sure conquerors that we are and fight to the death for what we believe in. That’s the way true believers operate. Much LOVE!…if it’s not worth dying for…then it’s not worth fighting for…