09 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a burning tempest, a righteous God, a vision, abundance, all one body, almighty god, anthems, arrows, backbone, battle, belly, bend their bow, blessed, brimstone, burning coals, Christ's promise, church of Jesus, church's health, clear direction, compassionate heart, conquer, courage, creativity, crowns, curse, darkness, defences, faith, family, favour, fear, fire, flee as a bird, friends, God's will, going on before, health, hell's foundations quiver, immune, In the Lord I put my trust, kingdoms, lift your voices, marching as to war, military procedure, negative word, not divided, Onward Christian soldiers, praise, prosper, push back, righteousness, rise, security, self-control, self-discipline, shoot, snares, soul, spirit, spiritual armour, stand up and fight, stand up for Jesus, strength, succeed, success, talent, the church of God, the foolish foe, the foundations, the prince of darkness, the righteous, the shout of praise, the upright in heart, the wicked, threat of the wicked, thrones, Thursday's Blessings, triumph, trust, victory, violence, wane, wickedness, will, wisdom, with the cross of Jesus, worship
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…
05 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: affirmation of faith, angels, anger, as for me and mine, at his feet, blameless, cease from anger, Christendom, come alive, commit thy way, confidently trust the Lord, consequences, crown him Lord of all, cut off, death, delight, destroyed, discouragement, do good, dwell in the land, encouraging, envious, ever-faithful, everlasting song, evil men, evildoers, exciting life, failure, faith, formula, forsake wrath, fret not, glory, Glory be, God's sanctuary, grace, hope, Hour of Power Devotional, I will move, immoral, inherit the earth, iniquity, Israelite, life boring death, majesty ascribe, move forward, National Anthem of Christendom, omnipotent god, pardon, peace of mind, pious, power, praise, prayer, prostrate, providence, raised the roof, ransomed, recipe, responsive, rest, reversal of fortunes, righteousness, robert h schuller, rooted out, sacred throng, saves you by his grace, seed of Israel, shame, short-lived, strange women, strength, success, Sunday, the Lord's Day, the Lord's presence, the perfect, the power of Jesus name, the Promised Land, the royal diadem, the upright, the wicked, tongue, transgressors, tribe, uplifting, wait patiently, wait upon the Lord, we will follow the Lord, weakness, wickedness, wisdom, worship, wrath
Proverbs 2:21. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect (blameless) shall remain in it.
Welcome my fellow believers to this blessed and glorious day called Sunday – the best day of the week! And so it should be since its’ the Lord’s Day. And what better way to begin our proceedings than with some praise and worship, so please sing with me this popular old hymn, which is sometimes called the ‘National Anthem of Christendom.’
As one now my people, let’s raise the roof of God’s sanctuary with the passion of our praise and worship. ‘All hail the power of Jesus’ name! Let angels prostrate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all. Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown him Lord of all!
O seed of Israel’s chosen race now ransomed from the fall, hail him who saves you by his grace, and crown him Lord of all. Hail him who saves you by his grace, and crown him Lord of all! Let every tongue and every tribe responsive to his call, to him all majesty ascribe, and crown him Lord of all. To him all majesty ascribe, and crown him Lord of all!
Oh, that with all the sacred throng we at his feet may fall! We’ll join the everlasting song and crown him Lord of all. We’ll join the everlasting song and crown him Lord of all. Amen!’
And having raised the roof not only of our sanctuary, but also of heaven, let’s tone it down a little with some heartfelt prayer as devised by Gramps Schuller (Robert H Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional, titled ‘I Will Move…’ I’m fairly sure that we’ve prayed it before, but as we keep on saying, once it’s nice, it’s okay to pray it twice. (smile)
So please pray with me. ‘Lord, I want your heart to be in my heart. For in you I come alive, moving ahead from boring death to exciting life! In your promises, I will move from discouragement to hope. In your pardon, I will move from shame to glory. In your power, I will move from weakness to strength. In your providence, I will move from failure to success! Thank you, Lord. Amen.’
Oh friends, what an awesome prayer! It highlights all we can do and become, how we’ll move positively forward when we acknowledge and sincerely maintain the Lord’s presence in our lives! Glory be!
And all of that just nicely and naturally segues into our Bit; wise words from Cousin Sol, as he talks about staying away from evil men and strange (immoral) women. ‘For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect (blameless) shall remain in it.’
And that’s a fact my brethren, as Cousin Sol explains in the next verse. ‘But the wicked shall be cut off (destroyed) from the earth (land), and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.’ (Prov.2:22)
Precious people, it couldn’t get any plainer than that. Righteousness will undoubtedly overcome wickedness. That’s the promise of our ever-faithful and omnipotent God, so I wouldn’t go doubting His Word in favour of Lucifer’s lies.
And if you don’t believe Cousin Sol, then listen to his father, Bruh David, from Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked. ‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on his faithfulness). Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement (justice) as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (it only causes harm). For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon (look diligently for) the Lord, shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps.37:1-9)
Ah mih breddren, what wonderful words of wisdom…and from a man who lived them! Now let’s hear some interesting explanations from the scholars on those verses.
‘Psalm 37. The psalm is written in the form of an acrostic, although our numbering is out of step with the Hebrew. There is no logical outline to the psalm, so it is best studied according to its topics. The major point of the psalm seems to be that the wicked’s prosperity is short-lived.
Though David was troubled by the prosperity of the unrighteous, he knew by faith that their undeserved bounty would be cut off. His underlying belief is that God will intervene in His time. Then the present, temporary reversal of fortunes will be set right and the righteous “shall inherit the earth” (vv.9, 11, 22, 29, 34).
The mention of inheriting the earth would be encouraging and uplifting to the pious Israelite since all of God’s blessing was connected with the Promised Land. In contrast to this blessed destiny the wicked “shall be cut off,” an expression used often in the Old Testament of a violent death.
The psalm also contains the simple formula for achieving peace of mind in the face of the wicked’s prosperity: fret not…neither be thou envious (v.1), trust…do good(v.3), delight thyself also in the Lord (v.4), commit thy way…trust (v.5), rest…wait patiently…fret not (v.7), cease from anger…forsake wrath…fret not (v.8).
All of those exhortations urge the believer to confidently trust the Lord with all of life’s problems. The psalm concludes appropriately with an undying affirmation of faith and trust in the unchanging character of God.’
What more can I say eh friends? Right there you have the perfect recipe for the best life here on planet earth. It’s now up to you to choose whom to follow. But as for me and mine, without a doubt, we will follow the Lord. Much LOVE!
…it all boils down to…trust, faith and belief in Almighty God…you either do…or you don’t…but remember to consider the consequences of each option before making your choice…
21 May 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a very present help in trouble, an opportunity, Anselm, anxious, be still, blow a task out of proportion, breath of life, challenges, Christ-like, coasting, composure, confession of sin, courage, Creator of the universe, cutting out, equanimity, ever-Loving, face your mountains, faith, fear, fearful, glory hallelujah, glory to God, God doesn't give us more than we can bear, God is our refuge and strength, god's greatest gift, haphazardly, hindsight, I am helped, I can do all things through Christ, I will be exalted, Jeremiah, Jesus Christ, joy, know that I am God, Long may He reign, LOVE, loving kindness, lying by the wayside, maturity, mental calmness, merciful, mercy, miraculous ways, modus operandi, mountain, my heart trusted in him, my shield, mysterious, omni-present, omnipotent, omniscient, our earthly journey, potholes, praise his holy name, problems, procrastination, putting off doing it, reward, salvation, self-esteem, start doing, stop thinking, strength, the god of Jacob, the Lord of hosts, the obits, the thief of time, trust, truth, undoing, ungodly things, want for nothing, when one door closes another opens
Psalm 46:1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present (an abundantly available) help in trouble.
Oh friends, it’s such a wonderful feeling when you look through the obits and don’t see your name or your picture, especially on a beautiful and restful Saturday morning like this one!
Hn! It just makes you want to jump and shout for joy: ‘Glory Hallelujah! Glory to God! Praise His Holy Name! Long may He reign! Yes my people, it is a delight to be alive, despite all the negative and ungodly things happening in our world.
But remember though, that if the Lord saw fit to give us His breath of life for another day, that means He has work for us to attend to in His name.
And talking about that, here are two interesting and appropriate quotes from our friend Anselm, who always tries to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And the first quote wisely advises: ‘Stop thinking. Start doing. To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing.’ And that’s no lie friends! Ofttimes we think about something for so long that we end up not doing it, or doing it haphazardly.
And the second bit of wisdom from Anselm is: ‘Don’t blow a task out of proportion. If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it.’ Now that too is no lie! And I can testify to it, because every day I have stuff to do that seems somewhat difficult, and I keep opting to do the easier stuff first, till eventually the harder stuff just keeps lying by the wayside.
And believe me too, when I do get around to the supposed difficult stuff, it’s never really as difficult as I thought. So please let’s get a move on with the stuff that the Lord has planned for us to do. What’s that old saying; I believe its procrastination is the thief of time, and none of us knows how much time we do have down here on God’s great earth, so we can’t afford to waste any of it.
And we have more wise words of advice to share on the subject, this time from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional, something he titles ‘Not a Problem – an Opportunity.’
It says: ‘God is going to give you a problem that will be your opportunity. He will give you challenges. That will be your mountain. That is God’s greatest gift to you. Face your mountains instead of cutting out or coasting. You’ll experience the greatest joy of life: the joy of self-esteem that comes when you know you did what you had to do. Every time one door closes, another door opens.’
Ah my people, that is indeed God’s modus operandi; He gives us challenges, which if we accept them fairly promptly, without fear, and having the bountiful faith that He won’t give us more than we can bear, and will also help us, then we will face those mountains with equanimity, mental calmness and true composure.
Yes fellow believers, that’s how the Lord builds courage, faith, strength and maturity in our lives. We cannot become Christ-like if we don’t have potholes and problems strewn along our earthly journey. And you will indeed notice that along life’s journey, when one door closes, another one eventually opens.
That’s our God moving in His mysterious and miraculous way in our lives. At the moment our world is being turned upside down, we don’t always see or appreciate His movements, but with hindsight, we definitely see His awesome hand moving in our affairs.
And why not eh, since our Bit so strenuously proclaims: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present (an abundantly available) help in trouble.’ And that’s the awesome truth my fellow believers! So if we worship the omnipotent, omniscient, omni-present Creator of the universe and all therein, then there’s nothing to fear, and everything to look forward to!
As Bruh Paul told the Philippians: ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’ (Phil.4:13) And that’s an indisputable fact friends! Whatever we need to do in the Lord’s name, He WILL enable us to do it.
The problem though is that sometimes the challenge or the problem looks so big and our faith isn’t as big, so we get somewhat anxious and fearful. But please remember that our merciful and ever-LOVING God will never allow us to carry burdens or do stuff that He knows we cannot do. So please believe that anything He throws our way, with His help, we can and will be able to accomplish it.
Now let’s turn to some scripture that verifies or supports our Bit. Listen to the prophet Jeremiah as he talks about confession of sin. ‘Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God. Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains; truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.’ (Jer.3:22-23)
Yes friends, salvation is ONLY possible through our Lord Jesus Christ! So all who are looking for it elsewhere are looking in vain. Now hear Bruh David from Psalm 28 – A prayer for God’s help.
‘The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.’ (Ps.28:7) Oh friends, that’s the awesome truth; if you trust in the Lord, He will help you and you will rejoice.
And we’ll end with these most appropriate words from Psalm 46 from which our Bit is taken. ‘Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.’ (Ps.46:10-12)
And if we believe that friends, then the Lord will bless and keep us and pour our His mercy and LOVING-kindness upon us, we shall want for nothing. Much LOVE!
…be strong and faithful all who hope in the Lord…for He will eventually reward you…
12 May 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a great family, a jealous God, a last resort, a positive outllok, a prison house, a strong will, abundance, action, Asa, awesome God, belief, believer, blessed is the nation, blessings, broken right now, chutzpah, courage, creativity, curse, diseased in his feet, disobedience, divine protection, done foolishly, drawn to Jesus, earthly pilgrimage, eternal life, faith, favour, favourites, followers of Jesus, freely, friends, fulfillment, generously, godly example, good works, habitation, havoc, he considereth all their works, He fashioneth their hearts alike, he sought not the Lord, health, heartache, heathen, I am blessed, improvements, in a rage, in the name of Jesus, inhabitants of the earth, inheritance, insignificant, interest, LOVE, lowly doings, lowly selves, make a difference, mercies, negative word, omnipotent, on behalf of them whose heart is perfect, oppressed the people, passion, praise to the Lord, promotion, prosper, salvation, self-control, self-discipline, serious notice, strength, succeed, success, suffering world, supernatural wisdom, talent, The eyes of the Lord, the physicians, the sons of men, thirsting, Thursday Blessings, to show himself strong, topsy-turvey world, true believers, understands, ungodliness, uproot evil, whose God is the Lord, wisdom, worthwhile changes, worthy of His interest, zenith
Psalm 33:15. He fashioneth their hearts alike (individually); he considereth (understands) all their works.
Ah mih breddren, another beautiful day has dawned, and we have been granted the godly opportunity to see it and make our mark in this topsy-turvy world for Jesus!
We have been destined to uproot the evil and the ungodliness that is causing such havoc and heartache in our once beautiful and godly world.
Are you up to the task? Of course you are! As true believers and followers of Jesus, we all have been empowered to make a difference in this life, even though it may just be a small one.
Yes, not all of us can make major contributions to God’s cause, but we all can make minor ones, which still glorify His precious and holy name and have others thirsting for the salvation and eternal life that He so freely and generously offers.
So let’s never believe, much less say that we’re too small and insignificant to make worthwhile changes, because we are not. As children of God we are imbued with all that’s necessary to do good works in the name of Jesus.
So as we continue our earthly pilgrimage on this new day, let’s sincerely decide that we will do our best to bring the awesome blessings and mercies of our great and awesome God to the hungry and thirsty people of our intensely struggling and greatly suffering world.
And to help us do that, let’s declare our Thursday Blessings with much chutzpah, plenty passion and positive emotion, backed by the all-important sincere belief, in what we’re declaring.
As one 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!’
Ah mih people, what a strong and positive declaration! It only requires us now to go out and put it all into action amongst both the heathen and the believer alike, so that much needed improvements in our world can be made by the godly example that our lives so vividly project.
As I keep saying, it’s only through our worthwhile examples that others will be sincerely drawn to Jesus. That brings us to our rather appropriate Bit, taken from Psalm 33 – Praise to the Lord for his creation.
Let’s set the scene first though. ‘Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. The Lord looked down from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashioneth their hearts alike (individually); he considereth (understands) all their works.’ (Ps.33:12-15)
Yes friends, from His home in the high heavens, the Lord looks down on each of us individually, checking out the hearts that He has fashioned in each of us, appropriate to whatever plan He has designed for our lives, paying close attention to, and understanding all that we do, be it great or small.
That’s the faithful and awesome kind of God we serve and worship; One who takes a significant interest in ALL that each and every one of us does. He doesn’t play favourites, or consider anything too small or insignificant to be worthy of His interest.
And that is something a lot of us believers have problems with. We can’t believe that our great God is interested in our lowly selves, as well as our lowly doings. But my people, our God is so wonderful that He is interested in each soul that He has created and in each and everything that goes on in our lives. That’s why He’s so awesome and magnificent!
And we have a great bit of scripture to uphold our assertions. This from 2 Chronicles, where King Asa is rebuked by the prophet Hanani for not trusting in the God of his fathers and instead relying on a pagan king to fight for him.
‘For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect (at peace with or loyal) toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
Then Asa was wrought with the seer, and put him in a prison house, for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time…. And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not the Lord, but to the physicians.’ (2 Chr.16:9-10,12.)
You see my people, Asa in his egotistical self, sought not his omnipotent God, neither in the major aspects of war, or in the smaller things, namely his diseased feet and thus paid a hefty price for such disobedience.
Please my brethren, let us take serious notice today, and everyday of our omnipotent but very jealous God, and run everything that concerns us by and through Him, before we turn to anything or anyone else. For that is indeed wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!
…it’s certainly not wise to turn to humans first…then to God as a last resort…God desires to be first…each and every time…
30 Apr 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new day, Abraham, almighty god, an answer for prayer, anger, awesome truth, Babylon, basic principles, be grateful, be thankful for what you have, beautiful memories, blossoming, brought forth fruit, captives, dream, enjoy your coffee, Ernesto Cortazar, fertile soil, for I know that my redeemer lives, glory to God, greed, hate, he shall stand at the last day, hope, innocent blood, Jesus, laugh, live every moment, LOVE, make the most of this day, mornings, negative things, Old Testament, parable of the sower, plant your own garden, poison our souls, prayers of the saints, Redeemer, redemption, refuel your soul, reign on earth, relax, relief, resentment, sacrificial lamb, sinless, strength, stress, take a deep breath, testimony, the blood of Jesus, the heathen, the Holy Spirit, the Lamb and the Lion, the Lord of hosts, the seven seals, the Word of god, they sung a new song, truth, turning away from God, vision of John, wake up with a smile, who hath ears to hear, yearning of thy heart, You Tube, zeal
Job 19:25. For I know that my Redeemer (lit. Kinsman) liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter (last) day upon the earth.
Aye mih fellow believers, friends and neighbours, it’s Saturday; a brand new day! And in celebration of that I thought I would share that wonderful poem with the beautiful pictures by Ernesto Cortazar on YouTube, which I sent to you all by e-mail earlier on in the week.
I don’t know how many of you opened it, but if you didn’t, you surely missed a great treat. But as the D.J. man says: ‘If it’s nice, yuh got to play it twice!’ So here is the poem, aptly titled ‘A NEW DAY,’ without the pictures. Please, read, enjoy and put into practice.
‘Everything may not be good, but there’s something good everyday. Mornings are the most beautiful time of the day. So wake up with a smile on your face and make the most of this morning. Be grateful for the new day. Take a deep breath and relax. Enjoy your coffee.
A new day is a chance to refuel your soul. It’s really nice to wake up in the morning realizing that God has given you another day to live. May God give us relief for every stress, a sweet song for every sigh, an answer for every prayer, and peace for every troubled moment. A blessed day everyone!
Don’t wait for someone to bring you flowers. Plant your own garden and decorate your own soul. Every day may not be good, but there’s something good in every day. When God gives you a new beginning, it starts with an ending. Be thankful for closed doors. They often guide us to the right one.
Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. Don’t start your day with broken pieces of yesterday. Today is a new day, a day to start afresh. Every day starts with some expectation, but every day ends with some experience. Hope your day begins with LOVE and ends with beautiful memories.
Every day is another chance to change your life. Make the most of this day! Laugh, LOVE, Dream… Live every moment! Every morning starts a new page in your story. Make it a great one today!’
Oh how beautiful and true that is my brethren! If we would only put those basic principles into action in our lives, what a beautiful life and world we’d have! But unfortunately, we allow negative things; weeds like hate, greed, anger, resentment, etc. etc. to come into our souls and poison and kill the beautiful and positive things that Almighty God has planted there for our enjoyment.
Chuh! What a waste! Remember Jesus’ parable about the sower who sowed his seed on several different types of ground? Well we are like those seeds which fell on bad ground, for our souls aren’t blossoming as they should. Instead we should be good and fertile soil like Jesus described. ‘But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty fold, some thirty fold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.’ (Mat.13:8-9)
Yes friends, with the Word of God and His Holy Spirit indwelling us, we ought to be such rich and fertile ground, bearing so much fruit, that the heathen should be opening his eyes and staring at us in wonder, trying to figure out why we’re so fruitful and wanting to be fruitful like us.
In theory, that’s how it’s supposed to work, but it obviously doesn’t. We aren’t producing sufficient good fruit; our life examples are not good enough, that’s why so many people are turning away from God. But that’s another story for another day. (smile)
Let’s turn to our Bit: ‘For I know that my Redeemer (lit. Kinsman) liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter (last) day upon the earth.’
Oh my people, what a powerful testimony of awesome truth! Job was indeed fertile ground, for despite his disastrous circumstances, he never doubted or cursed God. Just wish that most of us could be so faithful and trusting! (smile)
And we’ll continue with some scripture that talks about the Redeemer in the Old Testament. Hear Isaiah, re the Lord’s favour shown to Israel after they had rebelled.
‘Look down from the heavens and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels (yearning of thy heart) and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained? Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O Lord, art our father, our redeemer, thy name is from everlasting.’ (Is.63:15-16)
Ah friends, yuh see how we quick to acknowledge God after we rebel and He sets us adrift to do our own thing and life gets hard with us. Hn!
Now listen to Jeremiah, from his prophecy concerning Babylon. ‘Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go. Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name; he shall thoroughly plead their cause (case), that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.’ (Jer.50:33-34)
Yes my fellow believers, the Lord has always been the Redeemer of His people, even when they rebelled against Him and He allowed them to be taken captive and endure much ‘sufferation.’
And it wouldn’t be right to end without this wonderful vision of John re the Lion and the Lamb. ‘And he (the sacrificial Lamb – Jesus) came and took the book (scroll) out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials (bowls) full of odours (incense), which are the prayers of the saints.
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book (scroll), and to open the seals thereof: for thou was slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred (tribe), and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.’ (Rev.5:7-10)
Now isn’t that wonderful my people? It surely is! Our Lord and Saviour paid the price for our sins, redeemed us, that’s why He is worthy to break the seven seals and be worshipped and glorified. Please, let’s contemplate how that action has affected our lives today, and then give the rightful glory to God. Much LOVE!
…true redemption could have come from only one source…the shedding of sinless, innocent blood…the blood of Jesus…
14 Apr 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a great family, a magnanimous Deity, a positive outlook on life, abundance, alive and kicking, all praise and glory to God, and follow me, ashamed, be cast away, be gracious to you, blessings, care, clear direction for my life, compassion, courage, creativity, curse, declare blessing, deny ourselves, divine protection, everything is doable, faith, favour, for my sake, fulfillment, gain the whole world, glorify, good friends, good health, he said to them all, hockey, if any man will come after me, in the name of Jesus, Joel Osteen, late mornings, late nights, let him deny himself, lose himself, lose his life, LOVE, loving kindness, may the bless and protect you, may the Lord smile upon you, mercies, negative word, of a truth, on a daily basis, peace, praise, praise the Lord for His goodness, promotion, prosperity, relationship with Jesus, revere, save his life, self-control, self-discipline, selflessness, strength, strong will, success, supernatural wisdom, take up his cross daily, talent, taste of death, terms of discipleship, the kingdom of God, the Son of man, Thursday Blessing, undeserving children of men, victorious living, walking with Jesus, wisdom, with God's help, worship, zeppo
Luke 9:23. And he said to them all, If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Oh friends, oh friends, it’s Thursday, another bright and sunshiny day in my neck of the woods! And on top of that, it’s also supposed to be warmer than yesterday.
Oh, all praise and glory be to our amazing God, who bestows, who showers us with new and wonderful mercies, blessings and LOVING-kindness each and every day!
Wow! How could I not LOVE, worship, praise, revere and glorify such a magnanimous Deity eh!
And all God’s people declared a loud and proud, ‘Praise the Lord, for His goodness to the undeserving children of men!’
Yes my people, we do deserve to praise our heavenly Father for His unselfish care and compassion for us. Just wish that we could show Him and each other the same kind of care and concern. Anyway, since it’s Thursday, it’s time for us to confidently declare our Thursday Blessing…
And with a thoughtful frown, the congregation asks: ‘What yuh talking about eh? Didn’t know we had a Thursday Blessing.’
Well the truth is my precious people, I didn’t know that either until a couple nights ago when I got this zeppo. (smile)
And the story goes like this. As part of my devotions, I read an old devotional written by Bubba (Joel Osteen) in his early days of ministry. It had to be, because it’s old and beat up now, with some of the pages falling apart, and it was already old when I discovered it at my mothers place some years ago and we began reading it everyday, even when we couldn’t remember Bubba’s name. (smile)
It’s called ’30 Thoughts for Victorious Living.’ I don’t know if Bubba even remembers that he wrote something like that, the amount of stuff he’s written over the last few years. But I like it; it serves my purposes, and I will continue to use it as long as I can.
On a point of interest, most of my devotionals are old, but I prefer them to some of the new-fangled stuff that’s out there now.
Anyway a couple days ago I was reading the devotions for the 11th of the month, which says ‘Declare Blessing’, and the prevailing scripture for that is the blessing instituted by our God long time ago for the Israelites. ‘Say to them, may the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favour and give you His peace.’ (Num.6:24)
And the opening lines of the devotion are: ‘A blessing is not a blessing until it is declared! So today declare a blessing over yourself and others. Speak that blessing in the name of Jesus!’ And then he goes on to declare some blessings.
Now the other day when I finished reading it, it suddenly occurred to me that it would make a good prayer for Thursdays. I thought about a couple of names, like ‘Thursday’s Temptation,’ or ‘Thursday’s Tantrum’ (smile) but eventually ended up with ‘Thursday’s Blessing’ as being more appropriate.
And what I’ve done is basically taken Bubba’s general blessings and individualized them. So please declare with me now my brethren our Thursday Blessing, in a loud, proud, sincere and confident manner.
‘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 friends, that’s our Thursday Blessing. I like it, and I do hope you like it too. It’s basically a rework of the Lord’s blessings promised to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 28:1-14.
Now let’s turn to our Bit, some very important words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, re the terms of our discipleship. ‘And he said to them all, If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’
Yes my brethren, the number one rule in following Jesus is to deny ourselves, become selfless instead of selfish, as our world is today. That doesn’t mean we don’t look after ourselves as best we can and do stuff for ourselves, but that we are not the be all and end all of our earthly lives.
Just as Jesus came to serve and save, we too must concentrate on serving and saving, and on a daily basis too, which isn’t always easy. But as I keep saying, with God’s help, EVERYTHING is doable!
And we’ll end with Jesus’ words after our Bit. ‘For whosoever will (desires to) save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose (loses) his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged (benefited), if he gain the whole world, and lose himself (is destroyed), or be cast away (lost)?
For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels. But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.’ (Luke 9:24-27)
And there we have it friends, the self-explanatory, immortal words of Jesus on how we must approach our discipleship. Please, let’s take some time today to ponder our individual relationship with Jesus, re those terms of discipleship. And as always, with God’s help, try to improve them, for that’s the wisdom of heaven! Much LOVE!
…successfully walking with Jesus…takes lots of time…lots of selflessness…lots of care and consideration for others…
P.S. I know it’s long and late, but please be aware that the hockey playoffs have begun, which means that there’s lots of hockey every night, and thus there will be many late nights and consequently late mornings. (smile) Just bear with the ole fella nuh. He’s got to have a life too yuh know. And once he’s alive and kicking, the Bit will get there…eventually. Much LOVE!
20 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a colt, a day of celebration, a delight, a joyride, awesome God, before they spring forth, believers, Blessed is he, Christian society, church, confidence, crucify him, daughter of Zion, day of rest, delight thyself in the Lord, die on the cross, energy, enthusiasm, eternal life, face the upcoming week, feed thee, free gift, freedom, give thanks, glorify God, glory hallelujah, grace, he is just, He is love, heaven, Holy Trinity, honourable, Hosanna in the highest, humble, hypocrites, ingrates, Israel's king, Jerusalem, LOVE, lowly, lust, magnanimous, magnificent, majestic, mighty, my holy day, new things, Palm Sunday, peace, pleasure, pomp and pageantry, power, praise, prince of darkness, refreshed, rejoice, rest, ride upon the high places, riding an ass, right relationship, righteous, Sabbath, sacrifice, salvation, six days, spring, strength, Sunday, the foal of an ass, the former things, the god of Abraham, the Good Book, the heritage of Jacob, the holy of the Lord, the mouth of the Lord, the seventh day, the things of the world, thy king cometh, turn away thy foot, turncoats, washed clean, wisdom, worship
Zechariah 9:9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just (righteous), and having salvation; lowly (humble), and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Welcome friends to the first day of spring in the North Country, although it’s still pretty chilly outside. (smile) It’s also Sunday my people, which means it’s time to get thee hither to church, to gather with other believers to praise and worship and give thanks and glorify Almighty God and receive His power, strength, energy, wisdom, confidence and enthusiasm to face the upcoming week.
Now this is not my suggestion, but God’s command: ‘Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day, thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed. (Ex.23:12)
And in modern day Christian society we have chosen Sundays to be our day of rest and worship, and in a convoluting kind of way, also the first day of the week. The important thing though, is that we take off one day a week from our labour and rest and worship the Lord as a group, regardless of which day it might be.
Now listen to this other scripture about the observance of the Sabbath from the prophet Isaiah. ‘If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth (the hills), and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob, thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ (Is.58:13-14)
What more can we ask for re the observance, the celebration of the Sabbath eh my brethren? Nothing at all! The Lord has promised us a joyride if we faithfully observe it. (smile)
And fortunately, today also happens to be Palm Sunday; that magnificent day of celebration, when our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was ushered into Jerusalem in kingly fashion, but on a humble donkey, where the people spread their garments and branches they cut down from trees along the roadway for Him to ride over.
‘And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.’ (Matt.20:8-9)
Oh my people what a day of celebration that must have been in ole Jerusalem. Notwithstanding, that a week later the same fickle souls were then fiendishly crying out ‘crucify Him, crucify Him!’ That just shows what a bunch of ingrates and turncoats and hypocrites we are.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. (smile) Today, let’s enjoy the pomp and pageantry that was Palm Sunday, for it will be indeed a fleeting, though rather important moment in time.
And the breathtaking aspect of the day, is as the Good Book says: ‘And all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy king cometh unto thee, meek (lowly), and sitting upon an ass (donkey), and a colt the foal of an ass.’ (Matt.21:5)
Oh my people, how wonderful is our God eh, who can foretell stuff centuries and eons before they come to pass! ‘Behold the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.’ (Is.42:9)
And the Lord did tell us about Palm Sunday long before it happened. The words of our Bit spell it out loud and clear: ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just (righteous), and having salvation; lowly (humble), and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.’
What an awesome God we serve and worship my people! No other supposed deity has done, or can do those things; only the Almighty and Everlasting God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
‘And all God’s people joyfully sang: ‘Praise Him, praise him, Glory Hallelujah, He is LOVE, He is LOVE!’ That He certainly is my people!
Now here is some info from the scholars. ‘9:9-10. The ass (donkey) was an animal of peace. The kings of the earth come to bring destruction and devastation: Israel’s King comes to bring peace. The prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.’
Yes my people, our God is so mighty, majestic, magnificent and magnanimous that I can’t understand how so many of us can fail to appreciate, LOVE, serve and worship Him with all our hearts, minds, bodies and souls nuh!
He has never lied to us, never led us astray, has proven His great and unconditional LOVE for us unworthy reprobates by sending His only son Jesus to die on the cross so that we could be free, washed clean of our disgusting sins, thus reconciling us to Him, bringing us back into a right relationship with Him, offering us a free gift of grace that leads to salvation and eternal life with the Holy Trinity in heaven till time immemorial!
What more does He have to do to convince us eh mih breddren? The only thing left is for us to be able to worship the prince of darkness and lust after and enjoy the things of the world and still get to heaven. But I can assure you friends, that’s NEVER going to happen.
The Lord in His righteousness and holiness and justice could not agree to that. Yuh see the great heartbreaking lengths He went to, to secure our freedom; sacrificing His only Son? Now if it were possible to get into heaven another way than through Jesus sacrifice, don’t you think He would have taken it?
Anyway, that is all now hypothetical; Jesus was sacrificed to pay for our sins, and He’s the ONLY way to get to heaven. So let’s go out and celebrate, have a wonderful Palm Sunday, sing and praise and joyfully shout ‘Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord!’ Much LOVE my fellow believers!
…sing and rejoice…O daughter of Zion…for, lo, I come (am coming)…and I will dwell in the midst of thee…saith the Lord… (Zech.2:10)
08 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ascension, believe in Jesus, christianity, death, disobedient, EasterMessiah, eternal life, Father forgive them, forgiveness, free, glory to God, God created the heaven and the earth, Good Friday, good works, goodness, grace, grief, guilt, holiness, Hours of Power Devotional, I AM, I am the resurrection, idols, in the beginning, Jesus Christ, joy, joyous celebration, Lazarus, LOVE, loving kindness, maturity in Christ, mercy, mistakes, no strings attached, reconcile, resurrection, righteousness., robert h schuller, saltwater, salvation, shame, sinful, sins, strength, sunshine, that says it all, the cross, the greatest, the Life, the Lord God of Abraham Isaac and jacob, the sanctuary, thy way O God, true and living God, victims, who is so great a God
Psalm 77:13. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary (holiness): who is so great a God as our God?
Oh friends, I do hope we all had strong beginnings to our new work week yesterday, and that those strong beginnings will continue into today, Tuesday, as we do the Lord’s bidding and grow in strength and maturity in Christ Jesus.
I had a good day yesterday as I was out and about in the city having lunch with some friends whom I hadn’t seen before and visiting some older folks at home. But boy, was the sun ever hot, and I was doing this stuff between noon and early afternoon.
The duchess believes that this is the hottest the sun has ever been since we began visiting Tobago some four years ago. Who knows though? The sun is supposed to be hot in these parts, and that’s why I came, isn’t it; for sunshine and saltwater? (smile)
Anyway, today I want to share something called ‘No Strings Attached,’ from Gramps Schuller’s (Robert H. Schuller) Hours of Power Devotional.
Listen up closely. ‘Christianity is a religion based on mercy. It is rooted in forgiveness. Of all the religions in the world, Christianity is the only belief system that accepts grace as the source of salvation. Every other religion is based on good works – work hard enough or be good enough and you will earn your salvation, your heaven, your Nirvana.
Christianity alone says, ‘You can’t do it. No one is perfect. We all make mistakes. We all suffer from guilt and shame. We are all victims. But Jesus has died on the cross with these final words: ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’ (Luke 23:34). He has risen again. He has paid for my sins. He has paid for yours. The gift of salvation is free – no strings attached.’
Glory Hallelujah my fellow believers! And isn’t that the awesome and glorious truth. That’s why we can always loudly, proudly and truthfully say that OUR GOD IS THE GREATEST!
And that provides the answer to our Bit: ‘Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary (holiness): who is so great a God as our God?’
Oh friends, I know I promised that yesterday would be the last day for that particular Bit, but if you were paying close attention, you’d have noticed that we only spoke about Christ’s birth, not his death, resurrection and ascension, as we had intended to. So obviously we couldn’t be finished. (smile)
And in a few weeks’ time we’ll be coming up to those days of painful grief and then of joyous celebration, as we commemorate the Easter Season. And isn’t that a glorious season?
It certainly it is, for though Jesus’ birth celebrated at Christmas time is huge. Easter is the fulfillment of God’s great promises, to provide a Messiah, to reconcile us to Himself and provide eternal salvation through His free offering of grace to all those who belief in His Son, Jesus Christ! Oh Glory to God my people!
How can anyone be greater than Him when out of the goodness and LOVING-kindness of His heart, He sacrificed His One and Only Son so that we, His most precious, but also very disobedient and sinful creation could be righteously welcomed back into His holy fold? No other supposed deity can, or has ever done anything like that!
As Gramps Schuller says above; salvation is a free gift of God, with no strings attached! All the sinner has to do is to believe in and on Jesus Christ! What could be simpler that that eh? NOTHING really!
So when Good Friday rolls around, though it is filled with the pain and suffering and heartache endured by Jesus, we can still call it ‘Good’ because that is when our sins were paid for.
It wasn’t good for Jesus, though He bore it with a stiff upper lip and all that, but it was surely good for us, because without Good Friday, we could not have had Easter Sunday, when He miraculously rose from the dead and with it offered the promise that all who die in Him, will again rise in Him!
Oh what a great and LOVING God we serve and worship my people! THERE IS NONE OTHER LIKE HIM! That’s for sure.
And what amazes me about the other faiths out there is that they either serve dead gods, or idols created by man’s hand. Now how can something I create be my god and do all sorts of stuff for me eh? It just doesn’t sound very logical.
And please note too, has there ever been any other of the supposed gods who died and rose again from the dead? No way! Only our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ has ever done that! So why would I choose to worship any other God eh?
And on another point of interest, has anybody else ever brought anybody back from the dead after they had been in the grave for four days? NO!
But our Lord and Saviour Jesus did! Read the full account in John 11. He raised His friend Lazarus from the dead after he had been entombed for four days. All praise and glory to our great God!
After praying to His heavenly Father, ‘he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin (wrapped with a cloth). Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.’ (John 11:43-44)
Now tell me, who else has ever raised a human body buried for four days, and then raised Himself from the dead after being entombed for three days eh?
NOBODY BUT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!
And we’ll definitely close this Bit (smile) with these true and immortal words of Jesus re resurrection and life. ‘Jesus said unto her (Lazarus’ sister Martha), I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead (may die), yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11:25-26)
Now friends, that’s a question we must all ask ourselves, and hopefully, for all of us, the answer is a resounding YES!
And finally, hear this verifying statement from the scholars. ’11:25. I am the resurrection is one of Jesus’ greatest “I am” statements, signifying His power to give eternal life.’
What more can I say eh? Nothing but I do hope that during these last few days the evidence I’ve provided has convinced us that the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is indeed the GREATEST and the ONE and ONLY TRUE and LIVING GOD! Much LOVE!
…in the beginning…God created the heaven and the earth… (Gen.1:1) …that says it all…
06 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abraham, bad habits, bake and saltfish, barren, belly and backbone, blessings, carcasses, celebration, childbearing age, Christians, chutzpah, confusion, corruption, courage, David, deceitful world, devotions, disobedience, dry season, encouragement, fallen nature, fellowship, friends, give thanks, glory hallelujah, God's plan, Goliath, good habits, gospel truth, Hannah, heart's desire, in the name of the Lord of hosts, Jesus Christ, laid back, lead us down the garden path, LOVE, lustful, mistakes, on which side his bread was buttered, peace, Philistine, praise, prayer, rain, rear their ugly heads, rearing to go, Samuel, Sarah, strength, Sunday, tambourine, the battle is the Lord's, the day of the Lord, the fowls of the air, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, The God of Israel, the Lord God Jehovah, the sanctuary, the spoken word, the vicissitudes of life, there is a God in Israel, thy way O God, Tobago, who is so great a God, wild beasts of the earth, William Somerset Maugham, wisdom, worship, wrong thinking
Psalm 77:13. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary (holiness): who is so great a God as our God?
Oh friends, it’s the day of the Lord, as celebrated by a majority of Christians! So I do hope that we have all gotten, or are in the process of getting our weekly celebration, gathering with other believers to worship and praise and give thanks to our great God and receive his encouragement and strength and peace and wisdom to endure the vicissitudes of life for another week! Praise His holy name, for He is indeed a great God!
Now please note that the Bit is not late. (smile) That’s just the way God planned it. You see I was up early this morning, participating in some devotions, then got ready and went to church.
And you know on this paradise island of Tobago, like everything else, church is also laid back and does take some time. I read the first reading and I shook my tambourine and sang as loudly as I could, given my current asthmatic condition! Glory Hallelujah!
Then I came home and had breakfast, some bake and saltfish, and the obligatory nap came after. (smile) Only thing is it turned into a little more than a nap, since I had not had a decent night’s sleep last night. So you see everything is indeed working out according to God’s plan; I’m up now bright and beautiful and rearing to go!
And talking about bright and beautiful, I see some dark clouds massing up over the southern horizon, seemingly portents of rain which we desperately need in this continuing dry season.
But I won’t hold my breath because over the last few days it has been particularly cloudy, but nary a drop of heavenly blessing has fallen. The strong winds seem to blow them away at the last minute. But then again that might just be God’s plan, and indeed His prerogative.
And this Sunday morning, or rather afternoon, I want to remind us of one thing; it’s a quote attributed to the renowned British playwright and novelist, William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965). He reputedly declared that ‘The unfortunate thing about this world is that good habits are so much easier to give up than bad ones.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my people! We all have been plagued by habits, both good and bad, at some time(s) in our lives and unfortunately, or in some cases fortunately (smile) the bad ones were always the hardest to give up.
Now why is that eh? I suspect that it has something to with our fallen nature, because most of the bad habits are usually associated with the wrong thinking and beliefs of the lustful and deceitful world which we ofttimes seem to cherish more than the good habits of our wonderful God.
Now that’s just a reminder to be very careful of those bad worldly habits. When they come a calling, or rear their ugly heads in our lives, we need to resist them with every ounce of our beings, through prayer and fellowship, or else they will most certainly lead us down the garden path to more confusion and corruption in our lives than is necessary. End of sermon. (smile)
Now let’s turn to our Bit which espouses the greatness of our God Jehovah. ‘Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary (holiness): who is so great a God as our God?’
And for all true believers, we know that there is NOBODY as great as our God! As I keep asking, how could there be, when He is the one who created the universe and all therein basically through the spoken word. Who, or what, could be mightier than that eh, to just talk the world into existence?
NOTHING or NO ONE!
And we’ll continue looking at some scripture that proves our contention, beginning with the patriarch Abraham, who left his family at seventy-five years of age and wandered out into the unknown because of God’s promise to magnify Him if he obeyed His will. (Gen.12)
And we all know that God did magnify him, because today, thousands of years later, we talk about and worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
And how about the Lord’s promise that Abraham would have an heir out of his own loins with his aged wife Sarah? (Gen.18, 21) Who but a great and mighty God could fulfill such a promise when one party was a hundred years old and the other ninety eh, both way past childbearing age?
The Lord God Jehovah is His name!
And again when the prophet Samuel’s mother, Hannah, beseeched the Lord to end her barren womanhood, because she was having a hard time with the mocking of her husband Elkanah’s other fruitful wives, what happened?
Having promised to give the child into His service, the Lord looked down with favour and granted her her heart’s desire, and made him a great prophet amongst his people. (1 Sam.1)
And who caused Bruh David to kill the mighty Philistine giant with five small stones and a sling shot (catapult) eh? Nobody else but the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Now listen to these immortal words that Bruh David spoke to Goliath. ‘Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite (strike) thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.’ (1 Sam.17:45-47)
And it happened just as he declared it!
Oh friends, I have to chuckle at Bruh David’s belly and backbone yes! Wish we all could have a little bit of it. Just imagine this little runt of a shepherd boy, talking to the mighty Philistine warrior like that nuh!
But as I’ve always said, if nothing else, Bruh David knew on which side his bread was buttered, for despite all his mistakes and disobedience, he never forsook the God of his fathers.
Oh my people, this Sunday, please let’s take all the stuff we’ve talked about and diligently mould it into our minds, bodies and souls nuh, so that we can have the courage, the chutzpah of Bruh David, to stand up strong and declare our great God, when the enemy comes against us.
This I pray in Jesus name. Amen! Much LOVE my people!
…a believer’s bread is buttered on only one side…that of the Lord’s…
27 Dec 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a just man, a mover and a shaker, a public example, according to thy word, adultery, all generations shall call me blessed, an easy row to hoe, at those things which were spoken of him, be it dome unto me, behold the handmaid of the Lord, blessed art thou among women, blessed is she that believed, blessed is the fruit of thy womb, calm a storm, Christmas Season, comfort joy, conceived, divorce, Elisabeth, faith, filled with the Holy Ghost, fornication, give sight to a blind man, God with us, heaven's perfect Lamb, Immanuel, Isaiah's prophecy, Jesus, John the Baptist, Joseph, Joseph and his mother marveled, joy, jumped for joy, kissed the face of God, lack of understanding, Lord of all creation, LOVE, Mary did you know, merciful attitude, my soul doth magnify the Lord, my spirit hath rejoiced in God, one day rule the nations, peace, save our sons and daughters, signs and wonders, Son of David, Son of the Highest, stoning, strength, thanks and praise, the blind will see, the dead will live again, the deaf will hear, the dumb will speak, the great I AM, the Holy Ghost, the Jewish betrothal, the lame will leap, the Magnificat, the praises of the Lamb, the throne of his father David, the virgin birth, walk on water, walked where angels trod, wisdom
Luke 2:33. And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him.
Oh my people, this Sunday morning, the first after Christmas Day is the perfect opportunity for us to sing and ponder this song, sung by several artists. It’s titled ‘Mary Did You Know?’
Please sing along with me: ‘Mary did you know that your baby boy Will one day walk on water? Mary did you know that your baby boy Will save our sons and daughters? Did you know that your baby boy Has come to make you new? This child that you’ve delivered Will soon deliver you? Mary, did you know that your baby boy Will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy Will calm a storm with his hand? Did you know that your baby boy Has walked where angels trod? And when you kiss your little baby You’ve kissed the face of God.
Oh, Mary did you know Ooh… The blind will see, the deaf will hear, The dead will live again The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, The praises of the lamb? Mary did you know that your baby boy Is Lord of all creation? Mary did you know that your baby boy Will one day rule the nations? Did you know that your Baby Boy Is Heaven’s perfect Lamb? This sleeping child you’re holding Is the great I am?’
Oh Friends, I don’t know how many of those things Mary knew, but I am sure she knew that her baby boy was very special, especially from the manner in which He was conceived! Then there were so many signs and wonders along the way, how could she not know that He would indeed be a mover and a shaker.
As our Bit so pointedly puts it: ‘And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him.
Now let’s look at some of the signs and wonders. First off is the manner in which she was apprised of the situation by the sudden appearance of the angel telling her that she had found favour with God and would conceive and bring forth a son to be called JESUS, who would be great and called the Son of the Highest (Most High) and the Lord God shall give him the throne of his father David. And the angel went on to explain how it would all come to pass. (Luke 1:27-38)
Now if that didn’t give her some indication that something important was going to happen, then I don’t know what would have. And by the way, Mary was no simpleton, so her unhesitating agreement, ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to thy word,’ was more a matter of faith, rather than a lack of understanding.
After that Mary went to visit her cousin Elisabeth, who previously considered barren, was then some six months pregnant with John the Baptist. And when she entered Elisabeth’s house and greeted her, John jumped for joy in his mother’s womb. (smile)
‘And Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: and spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me (why is it) that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance (fulfillment) of those things which were told her from the Lord.’ (Luke 1:41-45)
Then Mary declared the awesome words we now call the Magnificat. ‘My soul doth magnify (exalt) the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate (lowly state) of his handmaiden (maid servant): for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.’ (Luke 1:46-48) You can read the rest of it for yourselves my people. It runs up to verse 56.
And according to the scholars: ‘1:46-56. This passage is called “the Magnificat,” based on the first word of the Latin translation (the Vulgate). It is rich in Old Testament imagery: Jesus’ coming was in fulfillment of Old Testament promises.’
So even if Mary wasn’t too sure of the situation, once she heard Elisabeth’s pronouncement and spoke the immortal words of the Magnificat, then spending three months with Elisabeth, she must have been aware that an event of great importance was going to take place in her life.
I am sure too that Mary was quite relieved when most likely, she very anxiously told Joseph about her situation, because the consequences of adultery or fornication were great in those days, even leading to the stoning of the woman.
But the Good Book tells us: ‘Then Joseph, her husband, being a just (upright) man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily (secretly).
But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.’ (Matt.1:19-21)
Now all of that was done to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy re the virgin birth of a child called Immanuel, God with us. (Is.7:14, 9:6)
‘Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife. And knew her not (kept her a virgin) till she brought forth her first-born: and he called his name JESUS.’ (Matt.1:24-25)
And the scholars explain: ‘1:19-20. Because Joseph was a just man, he decided to put her away (divorce her) privately (“privily”). The Jewish betrothal had to be legally broken. Joseph’s merciful attitude gives an insight into his true nature as a man.’
Yes friends, it wasn’t an easy row for either Mary or Joseph to hoe with the Saviour of man placed in their laps, but hoe it they did, with strength, wisdom, faith and obviously the Lord’s help. May we go forward on our own row today doing the same thing, of course with Jesus’ help.
And we’ll continue Mary’s story tomorrow, God willing. Till then may we rest in the peace, comfort, joy and LOVE of our heavenly Father. Much LOVE!
…it’s Sunday…and still the Christmas season…so please let’s fill the churches with people…giving thanks and praise to God…as we ought to…
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