19 Feb 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a modicum of circumspection, a thousadn years in thy sight, a watch in the night, adrenaline, apply our hearts to wisdom, as yesterday, aura of love, bedrock, carnal, confidence, dangerous, enthusiasm, evil, Family day, foundation, frail, further God's glorious kingdom, gain a heart of wisdom, God is good, gone tomorrow, heapeth up riches, here today, holy spirit, hope in God, jealousy, jobs, keeping lives together, lies, life's not fair, living truth, measure of my days, Monday Morniing Battle Hymn, Presidents Day, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, resentment, sally forth, serve a useful purpose, state of our hearts, state of our livers, taunts, teach us, the rat race, to number our days, unfair, ungodly world, vanity, vapour, weary souls, wiles, worldly lives
Psalm 90:12. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom (gain a heart of wisdom.)
Oh what a beautiful day this Monday will be in most of North America friends! Yes, that’s because it’s a public holiday. In the U.S. it’s the Presidents Day, honouring its Presidents. And in most of Canada it’s being celebrated as Family Day, although a few provinces call it by a different name.
So that means it’s been a long weekend, with NO WORK today for many of us, but ample time to party and/or rest, whichever catches our fancy. (smile) Thank the Lord that we don’t have to get up and join the rat race today!
But you know that our society has become such that it never really shuts down, it can’t afford to if we want to live our current lifestyle, so on public holidays some people always have to go to work while others enjoy a pleasurable day off. Yeh, life’s not fair, but God is good!
Consequently, or rather, especially on a day like this, we need to sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to quell any jealousy and resentment that might arise in the spirits of our fellow believers who have to go out and labour today, while we remain at home and enjoy the good life. So let’s belt it out now in our strongest and most harmonious voice.
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Hn, hn! Ah friends, the voices might have been strong, but rather hoarse and definitely not harmonious. But Jesus understands, He knows the state of our hearts…and our livers. (smile) And as always, it’s the ones who are not going to work who are the loudest and most disharmonious. I wonder why eh?
I just hope that our unfortunate brethren who have to work today have been well fortified by our singing and that the adrenaline is flowing through their bodies, making them eager to go out and fight the good fight of faith in Jesus’ name.
And as for those of us who are staying at home, please be responsible, remember Granny’s warning: ‘Sonny boy, drunk or sober, please mind your business.’ That’s because we don’t want to give the enemy a chance to get into our spirits, and we will have to go out to work tomorrow, and if we’re all tired out and mashed up from too much celebration today, we’ll be of not much use to Jesus then. So remember, exhibit a modicum of circumspection, for it will serve you in good stead in the long run. End of sermon!
And as I was looking for an appropriate Bit, this verse from Moses’ Psalm caught my eye. ‘So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom (gain a heart of wisdom.)’ Now here I’m taking Moses’ words literally, wanting to know how long our lives will be.
But that is something we’ll never know until the fateful day arrives. That means we have to be smart and live wisely every day! If we knew when our time would be up, many of us would choose to live carnal and worldly lives until just before we leave, then come running to God for forgiveness. But that’s not possible, so if we want to end up in heaven with Jesus, we have to live right, RIGHT NOW, since He can call us home at any moment in time.
Bruh David also sought to know his end, in Psalm 39 – A prayer for self-understanding. ‘Lord make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.’ (Ps. 39:4) Yeh friends, in terms of the big picture of the universe, we are indeed frail.
And Bruh David continues: ‘Behold thou hast made my days as a handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best is altogether vanity (vapour). Selah. Surely every man walketh in a vain show (as a shadow); surely they are disquieted in vain (make an uproar for nothing): he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.’ (Ps.39:5-7)
And isn’t all of that the living truth my people? It surely is! Our lives are vapour- like, here today and gone tomorrow. We pile up riches not knowing who is going to waste them away. And like Moses declares of God: ‘For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.’ (Ps.90:4) A thousand years to God is like one day to us. Hn! That just goes to show how flimsy our lives are, especially in comparison to God.
So having noted all of that, what’s our next move eh? Like Bruh David says: ‘And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee.’ (Ps.39:7) Oh friends, that’s wisdom at its zenith, so please, let’s be wise and do it nuh. Much LOVE!
…hope in God…should be the bedrock…the very foundation of our lives…
16 Jan 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a garden plot, a good man, accumulation of things, balmy winter, beloved of God, by thy words, check out your heart, common sense, concentrate on faith, condemned, corrupt, day of judgement, deep freeze, evil man, evil things, evil treasure, evil world, faith, faith is cultivated, faithful service, friend jesus, give account, Glory be, God's LOVE, God's wisdom, good things, good treasure of the heart, grow in Christ, grow in faith, gush, hold closest to out heart, hurry, idle word, indisputable truth, justified, LOVE, lures, meritorious benefits, monitor your heart daily, moth, Our Daily Bread Devotionals, pay cnstant attention, people, plenty talk, rewards, ruin, rust, safe, share jesus' love, spiritual growth, state of our hearts, talking through their hats, there will your heart be, thieves break through and steal, treasure, treasures in heaven, trust, Tuesday Mantra, unattended hearts, unsullied by man, wandering, warned, weeds, where your treasure is, wisdom, worldly stuff, worry
Matthew 6:21. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Ah friends, it’s obvious that the weather people who forecasted a mild and balmy winter were talking through their hats, (smile) as so far it has been anything but balmy. Except for the couple days last week, when the temps were above freezing, we’ve been in a deep freeze since before Christmas and the snow has been plentiful; more again yesterday afternoon and last night.
And it amuses me that every time I look outside and see the place covered in snow, I gush about how beautiful it is. Hn! Hn! Oh, it does look beautiful when it’s unsullied by man. But then, we all know that man sullies everything he touches!
And I have some wise words to share this morning from Our Daily Bread Devotionals. The first says: ‘Monitor your heart daily, to avoid wandering from God’s wisdom.’ And the second declares: ‘Spiritual growth occurs when faith is cultivated.’
Oh my people, what words of indisputable truth! Unless we pay constant attention to what’s happening with our hearts, it’s ever so easy to move away from God’s wisdom, especially with the many lures that the evil world has in place to do just that. It’s like a garden plot; if you don’t pay serious attention to it, the weeds will soon grow up and overrun it. The same thing is possible, no, inevitable with unattended hearts.
And it should be obvious that to grow in faith, we have to concentrate on faith. We won’t grow in Christ unless we specifically cultivate that growth, for whatever we concentrate on, that’s the direction in which we will go and grow. Yeh friends, we can easily be known by the state of our hearts. As Jesus so rightly states in our Bit: ‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’
Ah mih people, our treasure is never far from our heart, neither is our heart far from our treasure, because our treasure is what we hold closest to our heart. And Jesus warns before our Bit. ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.’ (Matt.6:19-20)
What everlasting wisdom friends! In this world our treasures can be ruined by worldly stuff and people, but in heaven that’s impossible. Therefore the common sense to store treasures in heaven rather than on earth. (smile)
And the scholars add:. ‘6:19-21. The attention of the believer is directed toward treasures in heaven. The term ‘treasures’ implies the addition or accumulation of things. The two kinds of treasures are conditioned by their place (either on earth or in heaven). The concept of laying up treasures in heaven is not pictured as one of meritorious benefits but rather of rewards for faithful service, as is illustrated elsewhere in the teaching of Jesus.’
Please note that significant difference my brethren! It’s not how much stuff we accumulate in heaven, like it is on earth, but it’s all about rewards for our faithful service here on earth. So it’s based on how much good we do here on earth. And, unlike money, and power and physical stuff, they can never be lost or destroyed. Hence again, the wisdom of storing up treasures in heaven, where they are everlastingly safe.
That brings us to another instance where Jesus links treasures with the heart. Here He is talking about good and corrupt fruit. ‘A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.’ (Matt.12:35)
There again friends, we see that what’s in our heart is what we treasure, and vice-versa, and it can be either good or bad, but we can only bring out what’s in there, be it good or bad.
Note though how Jesus continues: ‘But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.’ (Matt.12:36-37)
Powerful stuff that, my fellow believers: powerful enough that we should pay special attention to it! Remember the world was created by the Lord speaking words, which means that words are indeed very powerful, and we shall be judged by the words that we speak on this earth.
So it behooves us to be very careful about not only what we do, but also about what we say. So don’t say we have not been warned. (smile) Please take it very seriously, because in these times of plenty talk, it’s very easy to say the wrong thing and thus make our judgement day even more difficult than it’s already going to be.
Now let’s go home this Tuesday morning declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are. All together in strong and sincere voice 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!’
Glory be my people! How blessed we are! Now let’s go out and share Jesus’ LOVE and friendship with the rest of the world, as He so generously desires. Much LOVE!
check out your heart…what does it treasure most…worldly stuff…or God’s LOVE…
02 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a child of God, a compassionate heart, a heart full of Jesus, a physical death, able, above all that we ask, according to the power, attitudes, awesome God, awesome power, backbone, be glory in the church, blessed day of life, blessings, christ jesus, Christians, Comforter, compulsion, Controller, Creator, crux of the matter, curse, do god's work, doxology, earthly work, eternal life, ever-faithful, ever-Loving, everlasting God, exceeding abundantly, excellent work, faith, generous nature, get paid, God's assignments, God's great earth, guides, gumption, happenstance, holy partnership, holy spirit, in Christ's name, Jesus Christ, keep promises, kept secret, leads, made known, made manifest, Maker, motives, negative word, not to question why, our Lord and Saviour, plans, pledge, ponder, prosper, provider, ready, relationship with god, revelation of the mystery, rewards, salvation, self-control, self-discipline, serve, share our blessings, sincerity, state of our hearts, succeed, the best of our ability, the church at Rome, the fire, the flood, the prophets, the Scriptures, think, throughout all ages, Thursday Blessings, truth, unto him that is able, willing, with pleasure, works in us, world without end, worship
Ephesians 3:20-21. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Another day friends, another day! Wow! We’ve been granted another blessed day of life on God’s great earth! Isn’t that just wonderful? It surely is! That means God has great plans in store for us; plans to do His earthly work through the help of His Holy Spirit! Otherwise, why keep us alive eh? (smile)
But are we ready, willing and able to do our part in that holy partnership? That’s the million dollar question. We might be ready, and even able, but the crux of the matter is, are we willing? Yeh mih people, do we really WANT to do God’s work?
That is what God is interested in; the state of our hearts, our motives, our true attitudes. That’s because, like we all know, when you want to do something, you usually do it better than if you are merely doing it through compulsion or happenstance.
We see that everyday in the way people do their jobs; some do it with pleasure, some because they just want to get paid, and some don’t do it at all. So what’s out attitude towards God’s will and work eh? Let’s take a brief moment to ponder that question nuh…. Selah.
Oh I know that some of us will complain that God’s work is not easy or attractive, or whatever excuse you have. But friends, let’s remember that ours is not to question why, but simply, as a child of God, a follower of His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to accept God’s assignments and hopefully not to die, while carrying them out to the best of our ability.
And even if perchance we do die a physical death while doing His will, remember the great rewards He has promised, both here on earth and in heaven, for those who serve Him faithfully. There is nothing more rewarding than salvation and eternal life with the Holy Trinity!
And our God is faithful; one of His many names is EVER-FAITHFUL! So there is no need to worry if He will keep His promises like never to leave or forsake us, or to help us bear our burdens, or to walk with us through the flood and the fire. And even more importantly, unlike other supposed gods, He IS ABLE, has the power and might to keep those promises!
Just listen to Bruh Paul expatiate on His awesome power in our Bit. ‘Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.’
Yeh friends, the Lord God Almighty is our Maker, our Creator, our Controller and Provider! Consequently He can direct our lives in any which way that suits His plans, but in His ever-LOVING and generous nature, He desires us to WANT to work with Him, and not just be like a fearful and/or obedient slave.
It’s no different than how we desire others to work for us. And in these tremulous and troublesome times, it becomes even more important that we Christians acquire more gumption, more desire, more backbone, more faith and strength to fight the battles that our world requires us to fight.
And we can only acquire those things by working faithfully and sincerely with the Holy Spirit that dwells within us, that leads and guides us, that shows us the true path to glory in Jesus Christ.
So let’s sincerely pledge today to improve our relationship with our great God nuh, through listening to and following the dictates of our Comforter and Guide, His Holy Spirit. That’s the only way life will ever improve here on earth.
Now listen to Bruh Paul as he concludes with this doxology (praise to God), to the church at Rome, very reminiscent of our Bit. ‘Now to him that is of power (able) to stablish (establish) you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began,
But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.’ (Rom.16:25-27)
Oh friends, what powerful scripture. Please lets take it all to heart, and let it enable us to do excellent work in Christ’s name. And as we do every Thursday, let’s go home declaring our wonderful blessings from our most wonderful God.
All together now, in sincerity and truth: ‘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!’
Mama Mia! What an awesome God we serve and worship! The next step is to now go out and generously share those blessings with the less fortunate, as Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…the best way to serve Jesus…is to have a heart truly full of Jesus…
25 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all my members, animalistic, any wicked way in me, Black Friday, Boxing Day, commercialism, communication, contrived, down on our luck, endearments, everyday lives, false, fearfully, fellowship, formed my inward parts, frailties, Friday chant, friends, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, gracious, how precious thy thoughts unto me, in Jesus' name, indisputable truth, jump to out rescue, know my heart, know my thoughts, lead me, leggo beasts, licentiousness, life plan, LOVE, loving kindness, loving thoughts of God, made in secret, marvellous are thy works, merciful, more in number, motives, my mother's womb, O Lord, on sale, outward behaviour, party hearty, possessed my reins, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, safely, sand, search me, searches our hearts, shop till we drop, shopping in the U.S, sincere, sincerity, skillfully wrought, sopping day, state of our hearts, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, Thanksgiving Day, the sum of them, the way everlasting, think of God, thou hast searched me, treasure chest, true intentions, truth, try me, understand God, unformed, unison, week of work, weekends, wonderfully made, you know me
Psalm 139:1. O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
So it’s Friday once again, and the roar of the working people is in full swing: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and in particular Black Friday! We going to shop till we drop, then we going to party most heartily! Shopping and partying…! Oh what a glorious weekend it’s gonna be! Wow! Thank God for Fridays and weekends yes!’
Ah friends, the commercialism of our society is getting from bad to worse. Steups! We’ve finally integrated another shopping day into the calendar with the woeful name of ‘Black Friday.’
It’s actually become the biggest shopping day of the year, substantially beating out the old Boxing Day affairs. And the behaviour has become downright animalistic, like leggo beasts, as we rush and shove and push and fight each other to get to the items we think we need.
Ah Lord eh! And it’s right after Thanksgiving too. Some stores open at midnight, so a lot of folks don’t even get to finish the Thanksgiving proceedings properly before they rush out to the supposed sales, to line up to buy stuff they often don’t need, and in many cases cannot afford. But it’s on sale! Chuh!
Even in Canada it’s taken on a life of its own; I’ve never heard so many Black Friday ads like this year. I guess that’s because the Canadian proprietors don’t want the Canadians to go shopping down in the U.S.; they’d much prefer them to spend their dollars up here. Hn!
What a life eh! Anyway, for those of us who don’t allow the commercialism and licentiousness to get to us, we have our Friday Chant to bolster our emotions. So let’s chant it in sincerity and unison nuh.
‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Now that’s a much better way to view the weekend, especially this Black Friday madness. And our Bit is the same as yesterday: ‘O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.’
And that’s indisputable truth my brethren, for our God searches and knows the hearts of all His people, all His creation! It’s on the basis of the state of our hearts that He operates, not from our outward behaviour, since that outward show can quite easily be false and contrived and not reflect the true intentions and motives of our hearts.
And today we’ll look at the section where Bruh David talks about God creating him. ‘For thou hast possessed my reins (formed my inward parts): thou hast covered (weaved) me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right (very) well. My substance (frame, bones) was not hidden from thee when I was made in secret, and curiously (skillfully) wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect (unformed); and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned (the days fashioned for me), when as yet they were none of them.
How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.’ (Ps.139:13-18)
Yeh friends, our magnanimous and omnipotent God originated us in our mothers’ wombs, knew exactly how we’d turn out, wrote down our life plan in His book before we were even fully formed, as He watched us grow in delight.
He knows all of our frailties, because He created us with them. And there’s not a moment that goes by and He doesn’t think worthily and beautifully of us, His most wonderful creation.
As Bruh David says, those kindly and LOVING thoughts of our merciful and gracious God are more than sand in number. Wow! That just goes to show how much He thinks of us.
Now the resulting and very important question is how much do we think about Him? Yes my people, how much do we consider our great and wonderful God in our everyday lives eh?
For many of us, the answer is that we don’t think about Him enough. We only seem to remember Him when we are down on our luck, or want something. Then we rush to Him with all sorts of untrue endearments, and expect Him to jump to our rescue right away.
But unfortunately, that’s not the way our God works. He expects continuous and sincere communication, from a true heart, before He opens up His treasure chest. And we’ll close with the serious and sincere words with which Bruh David closed Psalm 139.
‘Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my (anxious) thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.’ (Ps.139:23-24)
Ah friends, this Black Friday morning is a very good time for each of us to pray that prayer individually, and ask God to cleanse us of any evil ways or desires that linger in our hearts and lead us along the right path, the one which leads directly to Him and His LOVING-kindness. We couldn’t ask for anything better. Much LOVE!
…to know… and to understand God…one must have frequent and sincere communication with Him…
19 Oct 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: afflicted, all knees shall bow, all tongues confess, antibiotics, blight, bondage in Egypr, chikungunya, death, destruction, disasters, diseases, disgraceful, disobedience, Ebola, economic fallout, enough rope to hang ourselves, ever-, Father God, firebrand, For where two or three are gathered together in my name, forgiveness, greed, homelessness, humble, hunger, in our own strength, inequities, Israel, Israelites, Jesus Christ, judgement, little children, locusts, magnanimous god, magnify the Lord, malaria, mind games, moving away from God, new creations in Jesus, our Deliverer, our esteemed Creator, outward show, oving, pestilence, polio, poverty, praise, prepare to meet thy God, prosperity, punishment, rejoice in nothing, repentance, saith the Lord, salvation, selfishness, shameful, sinful behaviour, slain with the sword, Sodom & Gomorrah, state of our hearts, stench of your camps, Sunday, super bugs, the Good Book, the kingdom of heaven, the Lord God of Abraham Isaac and jacob, the Lord of hosts, the Lord's Day, the name above every other name, the Promised Land, the Sabbath Day, warnings, wisdom, worship, yet you have not returned to me
Amos 4:6B. …yet ye have not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
Well my Friends, brothers, sisters, neighbours, kinsfolk and strangers, it’s Sunday; the Lord’s Day, the Sabbath Day, a day we are supposed to keep holy and magnify the Lord therein!
Yes my brethren, it’s calling for the gathering of all and sundry to worship and praise our esteemed Creator, Father God, and our wonderful Deliverer, Jesus Christ, the Name above every other name, to which all knees must bow and all tongues declare that He is Lord indeed!
So today, please let the sanctuaries be full of new creations in Jesus, all avidly singing and praising the wondrous name of the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
And remember that it doesn’t really matter how many are gathered together, though it would be nice to have all creation, (smile) for Jesus promised that ‘where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them.’ (Matt.18:20) So don’t be cowed by a lack of numbers, because it’s not the outward show He’s interested in, but the true state of our hearts.
Ah mih people, our God is such a wonderful Deity that it truly amazes me when folks refuse to worship Him! And none more so than the Israelites of old. Imagine it nuh Friends, after He brought them out of dire bondage in Egypt, gave them the Promised Land and prosperity they didn’t work for or even deserve, they had the gall, the ‘boldfaceness’ to turn away from Him! Steups!
And even His punishment for their dreadful disobedience didn’t seem to faze them. As the Good Book relates: ‘I have smitten (stricken) you with blasting (blight) and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm (locusts) destroyed them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.’ (Amos 4:9)
How foolish and insensitive my brethren! And the Good Book continues: ‘I have sent among you the pestilence (a plague) after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses (along with your captive horses); and I have made the stink (stench) of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.’ (Amos 4:10)
Ah Lord eh! One would think that by then they would have gotten the message. But they obviously did not. And the Good Book continues: ‘I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.’ (Amos 4:11)
What fools mih breddren! But in reality we can’t judge the Israelites of old too harshly, because we are doing the same foolish thing in our modern society. The Lord raised us up as great nations, but then, when prosperity set in, we behaved as though we did it all in our strength. Chuh! How foolish!
And I like how Amos describes it later on. ‘Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought (over nothing), which say, Have we not taken to us horns (a symbol of strength) by our own strength.’ (Amos 6:13)
So Friends, we in this modern technological age are just as ignorant, stupid and guilty as the Israelites were in their simple agrarian days. We are hearing the same warnings my people, with all sorts of disasters suddenly raining down on us all over the globe. Old diseases which we thought we had eradicated are coming back – polio, malaria – with new ones ever on the horizon, think of Ebola and Chikungunya.
Even our super drugs, antibiotics are no longer as useful, because superbugs are developing that resist them. Poverty, hunger and homelessness are widespread in a world of plenty. Greed and selfishness predominate. Economic fallout is widespread… And everyday we’re moving further and further away from God with our overly sinful, doh-care behaviour.
Oh Friends, you don’t need me to point out the inequities, the shameful and disgraceful aspects of our society, because we are all touched and afflicted by them to some degree.
And as I contemplate our current disgusting situation, I’ve come to the conclusion that something is drastically wrong with our brains, because as children we were taught, it was drilled into us, that disobedience brought punishment. And we most certainly experienced it when we were foolish enough to disobey the authority in our lives, whether they were our parents, school teachers, the law, or even strangers!
So how now that we’re adults, when we should be wiser, we have turned against our wonderful, ever-LOVING and magnanimous God, Creator and Provider eh?
No wonder Jesus compared those fit for the kingdom of heaven to little children. ‘Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’ (Matt.18:3-4)
Obviously Friends, from our proud and disgusting behaviour, it’s obvious that we’re not humbling ourselves as little children, which means that our place in heaven is somewhat dicey.
And as the Lord eventually said to His chosen people: ‘Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind (or spirit), and declareth unto man what is his (God’s) thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The Lord, the God of hosts, is his name.’ (Amos 4:12-13)
That’s a powerful warning my people! As the scholars declare: ‘4:12-13. Prepare to meet thy God warns that God is not going to visit Israel with salvation, but rather with inevitable and complete judgement.’
And unfortunately my people, He’s established the same destruction for us, if we continue in our evil, ungodly ways down the path of disobedience that we have so unwisely chosen to tread.
Please remember that He is our Creator and Controller, His thoughts and ways are much higher than ours, and He doesn’t play the silly mind games that we play. His patience is long, and He gives more than enough rope to hang ourselves. So let’s consider ourselves warned, and be wise and return to the Lord. That is the ultimate in wisdom! Much LOVE!
…continual .disobedience to God’s Law breeds only one thing…eventual punishment of death and destruction…but true repentance…oh my my… it joyfully brings forgiveness and salvation…
24 Aug 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, anger, bless the Lord, Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessings, Christians, clean spirits, disagreement, disputes, dissension, earthly family, encouraging, envy, exhortation to praise, exhorting, father in heaven, fellowship with other believers, fellowshipping, fill our coffers, forgiveness, friends, good news of the gospel, great commission, jealousy, lift up your hands, lifting up holy hands, light of jesus, living example, living our faith, Lord God Jehovah, LOVE, loving fold, loving god, magnificent and majestic God, mark of respect, mature in Christ, men pray every where, mercies, mercy, obedience, outstretched arms, personal relationship, pure hearts, resentment, salt of the earth, service, spreading God's Word, state of our hearts, strife, Sunday, teaching, the day of the Lord, the joy of brotherhood, this is the day the Lord has made, to dwell in unity, unconditional LOVE, we will rejoice and be glad in it, without wrath, worshipping
Psalm 134:2. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.
Well hello there mih lovelies! It’s a new day –Sunday –the day of the Lord, when we gather in His sanctuary to praise, worship, give thanks and glorify His Holy Name!
And all God’s children boldly declared: ‘Blessed be the name of the Lord who hath blessed us with all good things!’
Yes Friends, as usual, today will be filled with a whole new slew of blessings and mercies from our magnificent and majestic God! Thus His people joyfully proclaim: ‘This is the day the Lord has made. We WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’
Ah mih breddren, what a wonderful God we serve! Who else would still fill our coffers with mercy and forgiveness in spite of our less than exemplary service and obedience eh? Nobody else Friends, nobody else! That just goes to show how much He LOVES us and desires a personal relationship with each and every one of us.
It’s just like and earthly family, where the parents provide for and look after the children, nourish, protect and LOVE them, but not always unconditionally like our God LOVES us. That’s the big difference! Our God will never turn His back on any of His children. We are the ones who stray, who walk away from Him.
But yuh know what? Whenever we choose to return to His wonderful and LOVING fold, He is always there to welcome us back with open, outstretched arms and wrap us in a big bear hug, gently whispering in our ear how much He missed us and how glad He is that we’ve come back home.
Ah mih people, what a glorious Father we have in heaven! It’s just like the parable of the Prodigal Son that Jesus told.
So now that we’ve established what a great and magnanimous Deity we worship, let’s put on our Sunday-best and get ourselves out to the sanctuary and fellowship with other believers. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a big sprawling fancy church building, or an old wooden shack, because it’s not the building that matters, but the people within it.
And please note that dressing up to go to church is not to incite envy and jealousy from your fellow believers, as so many of us do, (smile) but as a mark of respect and appreciation to Almighty God, though He doesn’t really care so much about our dress, but more the state of our hearts.
Now let’s check out Psalm 134, from which our Bit comes. It’s an exhortation to praise. And according to the scholars it’s ‘apparently antiphonal: the people call on the priests to bless the Lord (vv. 1-2); the priests respond by pronouncing a blessing on the people (v.3).’
So let’s get on with it my people: ‘Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord. The Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.’ (Ps.134:1-3)
Yes Friends, it’s short, but certainly to the point!
Now hear how Bruh Paul puts it to Timothy: ‘I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.’ (1 Tim.2:8) That’s certainly a wonderful idea, my brethren!
And the scholars have this to say about that verse. ‘2:8. I will…that men pray every where (or, “I intend…that men in every locality pray”): The Greek word andres means “males.” Men are to lead audibly in public prayer; women are to pray silently.
This directive remains the same “in every locality,” geography being no factor. The manner in which men are to pray is that of lifting up holy hands, that is, with a pure life, which is without wrath and doubting (disputes).’
And though women now conduct public prayers, the requirement for doing so is still the same; without anger, resentment and disputes. As Bruh David says so wisely in Psalm 133; the joy of brotherhood: ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!’ (Ps.133:1)
Oh my brethren that is gospel truth, and what Jesus desires of His followers here on earth. But unfortunately that unity doesn’t exist in Christ’s earthly body, His church, as strong and prevalent as it ought to. There is still too much dissension, disagreement, resentment, envy and jealousy in the church.
We’re supposed to all come under one umbrella, that of the Lord God Jehovah, with pure and humble hearts and clean spirits, all for the purpose of worshipping, of fellowshipping, of exhorting and encouraging and teaching each other, so that we can stay strong and grow, become mature in Christ and spread the good news of his gospel through the living example of our lives.
But obviously that’s not happening, hence the poor view that so many unbelievers have of Christians and the sad state of our very troubled and strife filled world. Every day I hear about the hypocrisy with which we are viewed. And I dare say Friends, that if we, as Christians had a better testimony amongst the heathen, our world would definitely not be as war torn and strife filled.
Please remember that we are the ones Jesus is depending on to bring the world to Him, to salvation and eternal life. And if we falter on the job, then numerous souls will miss out on the good things that Christ died for them to have, meaning His tragic and very painful death would have all been in vain.
Oh my people, we can’t allow that to happen. So please let’s get our act together nuh, let’s clean up whatever we need to, so that when we go out into the world, others will notice a difference in us; that the light of Jesus is truly shining through us, that we’re truly the salt of the earth, and they will want to become like us, for remember that examples work more forcibly on the human mind than words.
Remember too, Jesus’ last directive to the disciples, the Great Commission, of which we are now the recipients: ‘Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
Let’s concentrate and ponder on that today nuh Friends, truthfully considering how we are individually obeying Christ’s directive, and then let’s invoke the Lord’s help to improve our obedience to it. For if we don’t improve, our world will sink even deeper into the evil morass in which it’s now wallowing. Heavenly wisdom is desperately calling for us to respond favourably. Much LOVE!
…it’s all about truly LOVING our God… sincerely LIVING our Faith…and diligently SPREADING His word…
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