01 Dec 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a clean heart, a dreamer, aches and pains, achievement for ourselves, Anselm, aspire to inspire, basic logic, by their fruits, change the world, choose the way, community, corrupt tree, dead men's bones, defiles a man, discouraged, don't need help, friend, fruits, God is great, good fruit, gospel truth, great dream, hypoctires, iniquity, injustice, lethargic, listless, Mosaic Law, no man is an island, opportunity, our sufficency is of God, outward behaviour, passion, patience, reach for the stars, righteous, rocket science, strength, strong enough, sufficient of ourselves, taste and see, tender mercies, the gift of life, The Lord is good, the Pharisees, the race is not for the swift, the sure of foot, tombs, unwashed hands, use our lives, white washed sepulchres, ye shall know them
Matthew 7:20. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Aye friends, the ole fella is somewhat listless and lethargic this Saturday morning yes! And the aches and pains not helping the situation either nuh. But yuh know what, we not giving in to the feelings today. The aches and pains might slow us down some, but we not stopping. Remember the race is not for the swift but for the sure of foot, and yuh better believe when I plant my big feet down they stay down! (smile)
Yeh, it’s just one of those days; the weather doesn’t look good, the body doesn’t feel good, but GOD IS GREAT! That’s something we can always count on, for He has said so in the promises of His Word, and His Word does not lie! Give Him some thanks and praise my people!
And since it’s Saturday, let’s look at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week in his noble attempt to aspire us to a better tomorrow. And this one jumps right out at me today: ‘You are never strong enough that you don’t need help.’ Wow! That’s gospel truth! For none of us can do it all ourselves. As they say, no man is an island. The Lord made us to fellowship with each other and to help each other, not to be single and all sufficient in our selves.
And on that point, hear what the Good Book says: ‘Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves: but our sufficiency is of God.’ (2 Cor.3:5) Now that says it all!
And this next quote also points directly to God: ‘Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.’ You do have all of that, but only if God is sincerely in your efforts!
Now listen to this one: ‘It is possible to become discouraged about the injustice we see everywhere. But God did not promise us that the world would be humane and just. He gives us the gift of life and allows us to choose the way we will use our limited time on earth. It is an awesome opportunity.’
Yes friends, it is an awesome opportunity we’ve been given to live for Jesus on this earth. And to use that opportunity properly, we need to remember these two scriptures. In the immortal words of Bruh David: ‘O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.’ (Ps.34:8) And also: ‘The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.’ (Ps.145:9)
It’s all about our heavenly Father my people! And this quote exemplifies that: ‘We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community… Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.’ That goes right back to the first quote, we can’t be successful on our own, for success means taking others on that journey with us, both individually and communally! That’s how the Lord designed it!
And this last quote covers them all: ‘When we are really honest with ourselves we must admit our lives are all that really belong to us. So it is how we use our lives that determines the kind of people we are.’ And today I want to focus on that last line; how we live our lives determines the kind of people we are.
Yeh friends, we can live our lives like the Pharisees did, outwardly showy and hypocritical, or like Jesus recommended, honest and truly considerate of others. For as He says: ‘Wherefore by their fruit ye shall know them.’ Yes friends, by our deeds we shall be known. And hear some deep insights of Jesus on the subject of how men live their lives.
First off, He states very clearly: ‘A good tree cannot bring forth evil (bad) fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.’ (Matt.7:18) And that’s not rocket science, just plain, basic logic. Then Jesus lays it out in plain terms: ‘Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.’ (Matt.15:11)
Oh friends, I hope we understand that. We can’t bear good fruit unless what is in us and what comes out of us is good! What’s in our hearts determines the kind of people we’ll be!
Hear Jesus again: ‘Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out (eliminated) into the draught (body waste)? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.’ (Matt.15:17-20)
Yeh friends, that whole argument began when the Pharisees complained that the disciples were eating with unwashed hands, which they considered a big thing. But Jesus, as usual set them right. And in Matthew 23, (please read it) He really lambastes the Pharisees, who looked real good on the outside but were dirty as hell on the inside!
And we’ll end with this description: ‘Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchres (white washed tombs), which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity (lawlessness).’ (Matt.23:27-28)
And the scholars offer this explanation: ’23:27-33. Whited sepulchres: Since contact with a dead body rendered a person unclean according to the Mosaic Law, graves were customarily painted white to make them conspicuous and give the opportunity of avoiding contact with them.’
Oh friends, please let us live lives that will not cause those unpleasant comparisons to be said of us nuh. Instead let us be good and uncorrupted trees, so that we can bear good fruit in Jesus’ name and make a productive difference in the lives of those around us. Much LOVE!
…whatsoever is in our heart…will undoubtedly manifest itself in our outward behaviour…that’s why we need a clean heart to live for Jesus…
30 Oct 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: amazing feat, appearing, aquamarine surf, barbecue, begun a good work, beloved of God, Blue Hole Waterfall, blue skies, bright sunshine, brokenness, cloudy skies, coconut trees, colourful fall season, compassion, confident, count it all joy, dead brown leaves, divers temptations, Don't stop Lord, Dunns River falls, faith, flambeaus, flaming torches, found unto praise, friend of Christ, genuine, glory, gold that perishes, grace, honour, hurry, in god's eyes, island talk, Jesus Chirst, joy, life unfair, living for Jesus, LOVE, magnificent shoulders, make me whole, maturity, more precious than gold, multihued trees, my weakness, nature trail, North East Trades, not easy, nothing left, of this very thing, of your faith, One Year Book of Bible promises, patience, perseverance, poster tree, Praise the Lord, rafting, ransacked me, redeeming feature, refurbishment, renovations, Revelation of Christ, rewarding, Ruth Harms Calkin, share His love, strength, testing, thanksgiving, the credit, the fire, the flood, the Lord carried me, the product, the White river, till the coming of Jesus, tough times, trial, tried with fire, Tuesday Mantra, various trials, wasted, what I do, what I have, will complete it, worry, worth the process, yellow leaves
1 Peter 1:7. That the (genine) trial (testing) of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried (tested) with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing (revelation) of Jesus Christ.
Ah friends, life can be so unfair at times eh! Chuh! For the past two weeks I was waking up to bright sunshine, blue skies, aquamarine surf rolling up on the shores, and tall coconut tress swaying gently in the cool North East Trade Winds, with refreshing island talk drifting up to my room.
But all of a sudden, I got up this morning and looking out my bedroom window, somewhat cloudy skies, multihued trees and a set of dead brown leaves on the cold looking grass shockingly greeted my sleepy eyes. It certainly brought my system to a standstill. (smile)
But there was one redeeming feature; my neighbour has a tall tree in his backyard, don’t ask me what kind, and it is covered in golden yellow leaves from head to foot! It looks real beautiful, could be a wonderful poster tree for the colourful fall season.
Yeh mih people, the ole fella is back home, dressed in his old red spring jacket, sitting in his old chair before his aged desktop, and writing much more comfortably than I did for the last two weeks on my laptop in J.A. But that vacation has been enshrined in the top ones that the duchess and I have taken.
It definitely is not number one. That place of honour permanently resides in one we took some fifteen to twenty years ago, in the same Jamaica, but we stayed in a town house somewhere down in the Parish of Trelawney. And brother, the things we did; climbing Dunns River falls, rafting down the White River and numerous other tours.
But I guess the highlight was boating up some river in the night with flambeaus, flaming torches all around, and drums beating in the distance, going to a night time barbecue somewhere along the river bank. Sorry, don’t ask me any more, because it seems I was totally wasted that night. (smile) The things we do when we are young eh!
But in my maturity and brokenness, I was still able to do one amazing feat; walk up the winding, dangerous nature trail to the Blue Hole Waterfall, and then walk back down in my flip-flops. And I would indeed be foolish to take all the credit, or rather any of it, because it was the Lord who carried me back and forth on His strong, massive, magnificent shoulders.
If I had known what it was like before attempting it, I doubt I would have done so. So please give the Lord all the glory, because in my weakness, His grace and strength were more than enough to see me through. Glory to the wonderful Deity we serve!
And on that note of thanksgiving, here is something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that certainly describes my life in the past couple of years. It’s titled ‘Don’t Stop Lord.’ Please pray with me. ‘Lord In asking You to make me whole I certainly didn’t know What I was in for. You have ransacked me Until I sometimes feel There is nothing left. But don’t stop Lord Please don’t stop! I’m trusting that the product Will be worth the process.’
Yes mih breddren, when I asked the Lord for healing, I surely didn’t know the paces He would put me through. And if I had known, I can’t say for sure that I would have asked for it. But since we’ve come so far, it’s too late to turn back now. And even if I don’t feel like crying out to Him to continue, the wise and sensible thing to do is let Him finish the renovations and refurbishment, because as Bruh Paul confidently told the Philippians:
‘Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you, will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.’ (Phil.1:6) Yes my brethren, once the Lord begins working in us, He never stops until the job is done, even if it takes till Jesus’ Second Coming. So please don’t ever give up on Him!
And the Bible Promise for the poem above is also our Bit. ‘That the (genuine) trial (testing) of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried (tested) with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing (revelation) of Jesus Christ.’
Oh friends, the Lord puts us through some tough trials to simply test our faith, to see how committed we truly are to Him. But He only does it for a ‘season,’ a short time. And if we stand strong and steadfast, He will bring us out of the testing fire, stronger, purer and more mature, like when gold and silver are burnished.
As James says: ‘My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (various trials); Knowing this, that the trying (testing) of your faith worketh (produces) patience.’ (James 1:2-3) And patience, re perseverance, is something ALL believers need to acquire, and sadly, it cannot be acquired without going through tough times.
So please friends, let’s all try and bear up under whatever adversity comes against us, knowing that our ever-faithful God will not give us more than we can handle, and in any case will help us through the fire and the flood. And it’s going home time, so let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra with much sincerity, in loud voice and strong sense of purpose, proudly letting the world know who and whose we are.
In unison now: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And to be true to our word, let’s go out now and share the wonderful LOVE and compassion of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!
…truly living for Jesus is not easy…but praise the Lord…it is certainly very rewarding…
30 Sep 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a roadway, a sacrifice, a song of praise, Abednego, able to bear it, all things work together for good, assurance, awesome praise, Babylon, backbone, be my guide, be tempted above that ye are able, belly, called to his prupose, cares, common to man, confidence, cried out to God, deity, Don Moen, evil likeness of Beelzebub, exalt His name, followers, foolish people, found solace, furnace, gave His only Son, glory to God, God is faithful, God will do something new today, God will make a way, golden idol, grief, hear his word, heartfelt thanks, heaven and earth will fade, heavenly Father, help, His word shall remain, hot on their heels, Hour of Power, in the desert, in the wilderness, in the world, Israelites fled bondage, Jesus' colours, lies, loves, Lucifer, make a way to escape, Meshach, Nebuchadnezzar, never leave nor forsake you, no temptation, not of the world, not overflow thee, obedience, obeisance, omnipotence, omnipotent god, pass through the waters, Pharaoh's army, presence required, promises of our God, ringing of the phone, Rivers, salt, scorch you, shadrach, shall not be burned, sincerity, smelling of smoke, soften our hard hearts, sorrow, strength, suffer you, television ministry, testify, the flame kindle upon thee, the Jordan River, the Lord's sanctuary, the Promised Land, the Red Sea, to those that love God, truth, walk one more time, walk through the fire, ways we cannot see, with love
Isaiah 43:2, When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon (scorch) thee.
Awright my faithful brethren, let’s walk one more time, one more time to the Lord’s sanctuary! It’s Sunday and our presence is required in the house of our great God, to worship and give Him awesome praise, exalt His holy name with other believers, hear His Word and receive His confidence and assurance that He will always be with us, never leave nor forsake us.
No other Deity has ever made the promises our God has, because they’re not really interested in their followers, and in any case they don’t have the omnipotence to keep such promises. But our heavenly Father sincerely cares about and LOVES us so much that He gave His only Son as a sacrifice for us. Glory to God! And all He expects from us in return is obeisance and obedience.
And as always, to soften up our hard hearts, we’ll begin with a song of praise. Today’s song is one written by Don Moen, once the music director for the Hour of Power television ministry, but now retired. I believe the story behind this song is one late night in the mid 1980’s Don was awakened by the incessant ringing of the phone. On answering it, he was shocked to hear the news that His brother in-law and his sister had met in an accident with their four children, and one of the boys had died.
In his grief and sorrow, Don cried out to God for help, and these are the words he found solace in, as he put them to music in the song, ‘God will make a way.’ So let’s raise our voices in all sincerity and truth, declaring the words of Don’s song with heartfelt thanks.
In soulful unison now: (‘God will make a way Where there seems to be no way He works in ways we cannot see He will make a way for me. He will be my guide Hold me closely to His side With LOVE and strength for each new day He will make a way, He will make a way.) (Repeat)
By a roadway in the wilderness, He’ll lead me And rivers in the desert will I see Heaven and Earth will fade but His Word will remain And He will do something new today. Oh, God will make a way where there seems to be no way He works in ways we cannot see He will make a way for me.’
And that’s the awesome truth my brethren as all of us sincere believers can testify, because at some stage in our walk with Almighty God, He has made a way for each of us, when there absolutely seemed to be no way! Praise his holy name my people! Give Him enormous thanks for being the wonderful Deity He is!
And if you don’t believe me, listen to this mind boggling promise of our Bit nuh. ‘When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon (scorch) thee.’
And there are instances where He kept all those promises: When the Israelites fled bondage in Egypt and came to the Red Sea, with Pharaoh and his army hot on their heels, it seemed like they were destined to either drown or be slaughtered by their enemy. But their omnipotent God made a way for them by simply parting the Red Sea and giving them dry land to cross over upon. And it was the mighty Egyptians who drowned that day. (Ex.14:21-31)
Likewise, when they crossed the Jordan River to go into the Promised Land, the Lord parted the river for them to walk across on dry land once more. (Josh. 4) And if yuh think His talk about the fire scene was just idle talk, then read Daniel 3: 8-30, where the story of the three Hebrew young men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego is told.
They refused to bow to a golden image made by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and were thrown into a furnace of fire heated seven times hotter than normal. Hn! It consumed the men who threw them in, but those faithful young men came out without a scorch, not even smelling of smoke!
Wow mih breddren! As I rave every day: what a wonderful and powerful God we serve and worship! Give Him the praise and thanks He so rightfully deserves nuh! And the hordes of foolish people, believing Lucifer’s lies that we ought to get rid of God from our society? Deh mad yes! We ought to be begging Him to come back, not go away!
And if yuh think all of that was in the now irrelevant Old Testament, then listen to Bruh Paul writing to the church at Corinth. ‘There hath no temptation taken (overtaken) you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear (endure) it.’ (1 Cor.10:13)
Yes friends, even when the tempter comes with His best shot, our ever-faithful God will find a way for us to escape the temptation entirely, or walk through it with us, helping us to endure it. But He will NEVER allow us to handle more than we can bear! That’s His promise!
And even more compelling are these words of assurance from Bruh Paul to the Roman church. ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.’ (Rom.8:28)
Oh my people, our wonderful God is working out ALL things for good, but we who LOVE Him appreciate that fact more than others because we LOVE Him no matter what! Like Shadrach and them told King Neb, we know the Lord can save us from the fire, but whether He chooses to save us or not, we not bowing to yuh foolish lifeless golden idol! And that is that! You could do whatever yuh want now!
Oh my fellow followers of Jesus, that is the kind of salt and belly and backbone that we need to have in these oh so evil and ungodly times! For Jesus’ sake, let’s get our act together and be solid nuh. We way too wishy-washy and compromising with the world! Much LOVE!
…remember…we must be in the world…but showing Jesus’ glowing colours…not be of the world…in the dark and evil likeness of Beelzebub…
16 Sep 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a steady heart, a steady walk, appropriate song, Azariah's warning, be wise, believer's needs, bound for hades, but thou art strong, captivity in Babylon, celebration, comfort, compassionately, crux of the matter, daily walk, daily walking, draw nigh to God, entreat our Lord, esteemed saint, eternal damnation, express awareness, falter, feeble life, fellow believers, generously, grace, grant it, guide me, he will draw nigh to you, hear his word, heaven gets together too, heed warnings, human inability, I am weak, in the mood, is my plea, is over, Jesus, just a closer walk with thee, keep me from all wrong, King Asa, let it be, lift our hands to heaven, Moses-like glow, my burden shares, my grace is sufficient, my power is made perfect in weakness, not by sight, not forsaken any who seek him, plugged nickel, pray unto me, raise the roof, reassuring, seek ye my face, sincerity, sing the Lord's praises, snares, soften our hard hearts, spirits renewed, strength, strengthening, succour, sweet voices, thanks and worship, the Holy Spirit, the house of God, then I am strong, to live righteously, we walk by faith, when I am weak, with all thy heart, with all thy soul, world of toil
James 4:8a. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you.
Well it’s that special time again friends; time to visit the house of God and give Him thanks through sincere praise and worship, in the company of fellow believers. It’s always a great time, both here on earth and in heaven when believers get together to sing the Lord’s praises, hear His Word and have their spirits renewed and refreshed.
The celebration is remarkable, as all heaven gets together too, to watch and participate in their own way! And you know we always like to begin the proceedings with a song of praise to get us in the mood and soften up our hard hearts. Today’s song is the well-known hymn, ‘Just a closer walk with thee.’ It’s strange, but there doesn’t seem to be any agreement on who wrote the song or where it first originated.
But it’s a very appropriate song for believer’s needs, as one commentator says: ‘In this song, we acknowledge our human inability to live righteously, but we also express awareness of the grace and strength that God gives us in our daily walk. Even an esteemed saint as the apostle Paul acknowledged his need for this grace: “But he (God) said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”…For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor.12:9a, 10b)
And is that ever so true, for without God’s grace and guidance our lives would not be worth even the proverbial ‘plugged nickel!’ So let’s open out hearts and mouths, and lift our hands and eyes to heaven and entreat our Lord and Saviour to generously and compassionately offer us a closer walk with Him, for without Him at our side we’re simply bound for Hades and eternal damnation.
Altogether now my people, let’s raise the roof of the sanctuary with our sweet voices, and let our prayerful requests rise to heaven in song. ‘I am weak, but Thou art strong, Jesus, keep me from all wrong; I’ll be satisfied as long As I walk, let me walk close to Thee. (Refrain: Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.)
Through this world of toil and snares, If I falter, Lord, who cares? Who with me my burden shares? None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee. (Refrain: Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.) When my feeble life is o’er, Time for me will be no more; Guide me gently, safely o’er To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore. (Refrain: Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.).’
Oh friends, that sure was powerful, but also very sincere! And I’m positive that our requests reached the listening ear of Jesus and He immediately instructed the angels to do exactly as we asked. And they have done it, because I can feel the Holy Spirit of our Lord and Saviour moving dramatically in me, strengthening me and reassuring me that everything will be okay, because He’s always near and will never leave nor forsake me.
And I’m sure that you my fellow believers have also received the same message, because I can see the light of Christ shining in your eyes, with a Moses-like glow on your faces, and your bodies are now standing straight and strong. Ah mih people, that’s the wonderful effect God’s power, through His Spirit, will have on us when we reach out in all sincerity to Him.
They say that the title and lyrics of this song allude to the Biblical passage from 2 Cor.5:7 which states, “We walk by faith and not by sight,” which we talked about a couple days ago. And also to our Bit for today: ‘Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you.’
And isn’t that the awesome truth! Throughout the Good Book our God repeatedly tells us to come to Him, for succour, and comfort. We see it early on when Moses tells the Israelites about turning from their evil ways if they ever become idol worshippers. ‘But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.’ (Deut.4:29)
Ah friends, that’s the real crux of the matter; not only seeking God, but also doing so with true sincerity. For remember God judges us by the state of our hearts, not by our outward show. And Bruh David tells us in no uncertain terms: ‘And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.’ (Ps.9:10) And friends, He NEVER WILL!
And Bruh David practiced what he preached.’ When thou saidst, seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.’ (Ps.27:8) Meanwhile through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord said to the Israelites about their return from captivity in Babylon: ‘Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken (listen) unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer.29:12-13)
There again my fellow believers, that proviso of seeking God with all your heart, if you want to find Him. You can seek Him in any state, He’ll take you just as you are, but your heart must be right, be truly repentant. And let’s not forget Azariah’s warning to king Asa. ‘The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.’ (2 Chr.15:2) That says it all friends! So please, let’s be wise and heed all those warnings nuh! Much LOVE!
…if we want to have a steady walk with God…then we must have a steady heart for God…
07 Sep 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a God of justice, afflict willingly, affliction, anger, bear his yoke, believers, bitterness, body and soul, bring a chuckle, broken my teeth, can't make ends meet, cantankerousness, cast off, cautious, come hell or high water, compassions, confusion, covered me with ashes, drunken, earthiness, enthusiasm, exasperated, fail not, faithfulness, fellowship, Friday chant, from peace, frustrated, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, gall, get discouraged, give up, gravel stones, hang in there, hang-ups, have a good time, have I hope, heartache, hope, humbled, immortal words, in his youth, intelligentsia, Jeremiah, labouring for massa, Lamentations, lift the burdens, lift the spirit, misery, new every morning, news headlines, not consumed, nothing uplifting, on his sleeve, out on the limb, party for so, perished, piddling wages, punish us, refeshed, relaxation, removed my soul, renewed, resentment, rest, sinful souls, sinless life, sins, strength, strife, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the big-wigs, The Lord is good, the Lord's mercies, the salvation of the Lord, the soul that seeks him, the summer finish, the workingman, this I recall to mind, wait for him, war, wears his emotions, weekends, with mankind, wormwood
Lamentations 3:21. This I recall to mind, therefore have I hope.
Aye friends, yuh ever wake up in the morning and just feel tired, exasperated and frustrated with mankind? Well that’s the way I feel this morning. Before I begin writing the Bit, I usually take a gander at the news headlines to get some idea of what’s happening around the world…
And…oh Lord…it’s only strife, anger, war, resentment and hatred! Nothing uplifting! Unless the newsmongers don’t consider anything uplifting to be news! But it’s just so much confusion and ‘cantankerousness’ that it leaves the spirit longing for the day the Lord shuts it all down.
But yuh know what? It’s Friday, and it’s the big-wigs who are causing all the heartache, but the workingman does have something to say that will bring a chuckle to the soul and lift the spirit some. ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! And though the summer finish and school start back, and the long holiday weekends done for now, we still going to have a good time on the weekends!
Why? Because that’s the only time we have to have a good time! The rest of the week we labouring for massa for piddling, can’t make ends meet wages. So when we get the chance, come hell or high water, we certainly going to party for so, and say, ‘In yuh face massa! Stop we now nuh! But he can’t! That’s why we have to say Thank God for Fridays and weekends yes!’
Ah friends, there’s a certain kind of earthiness in the workingman that you can’t beat. He just lays it out there bare, fair and square. Meanwhile we, the supposed intelligentsia, make such a fuss, have so many unnecessary hang-ups, that we make our own lives more difficult than they need to be.
Yes, the workingman does tend to go too far out on the limb, but he wears his emotions on his sleeve. Hopefully, we believers are a li’l more cautious, but still capable of real and true emotion, and show it when it’s necessary. And right now is one of those times, as we declare our Friday Chant with as much enthusiasm as the workingman sang his song.
All together now: ‘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!’
Yes friends, our intentions are different from the workingman, but our enthusiasm for the things of Jesus should be just as great, if not greater! And I’m chuckling here mih people, because I don’t know where all of this is leading to, but the Lord must have a purpose for it all. Let’s see if we can find it…
Glory to God, I found it! I just opened the Good Book and it opened right to the page with these immortal words of Jeremiah in his soulful Lamentations. ‘He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood. He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes. And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace:
I forgat prosperity (good). And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord: Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall (bitterness). My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled (bowed down) in me.’ (Lam.3:15-20)
Ah mih breddren, Jeremiah did have a pretty rough time in trying to bring his people to the Lord. But yuh know what? In his reminiscence, he rightly and sagely concludes. ‘This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.
The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.’ (Lam.3:21-28)
And Jeremiah did bear the Lord’s yoke in his youth, as did many of us believers. So friends, even though we might be going through a pretty difficult time, there’s no reason to get discouraged and give up, because as Jerry says, the Lord is good to those who seek Him and wait on Him.
And later on he further declares: ‘For the Lord will not cast off for ever: But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly (with delight), nor grieve the children of men.’ (Lam.3:31-33) Yeh, friends, though our God is a God of justice, He is also a God of great mercy; He does not take delight in afflicting us. He will punish us for our sins, but nowhere near what we deserve.
So please, I implore us this Friday morning, to not give up, even though you may not see a way out of your troubles. Remember that our God is the Creator of the universe and He ALWAYS finds a way. So put your trust and hope in Him, hang in there, and eventually, in His time and manner, He will lift the burdens from your soul. He has done it for countless other saints. He will do it for you too…just have faith and hang in there. Much LOVE!
…if the Lord gave His Son’s sinless life for our sinful souls…why would he withhold anything else from us eh…
12 Jul 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: active faith, antidote, blind men, building up, busy, but by my spirit, by the flesh, clinging to God, compassion, creativity, curse, danger, defeats the purpose, doing nothing, doing the Lord's work, enable me, enthusiasm, error, essential trait, eternal life, faithful believers, feeling fresh, going to bed, good for evil, great is thy faithfulness, grin and bear it, have mercy on us, help others, his compassions fail not, holy faith, immorality, inconsequential stuff, James, Jesus Christ, Jesus healing, Jude, keep quiet, making a difference, mediate, mercy, negative word, never too busy, new every morning, not by might, not consumed, our eyes be opened, out of the fire, pain, painkillers, power, praying, prosper, rebuked, received sight, rendering evil for evil, revitalized, save, self-control, self-discipline, share, share the gospel, Son of David, strength, succeed, the fallen, the garment defiled, the Holy Ghost, the Lord's help, the Lord's mercies, the lost, the LOVE of God, Thursday Blessings, tired, wake up, with fear
Lamentations 3:22-23. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
Ah friends, I thought when one went to bed, one was supposed to wake up feeling fresh and strong and revitalized? So why is it when I get up these days I’m tired and full of more pain than when I went to bed eh? Does that only happen to me? Chuh! It just defeats the purpose of going to bed. (smile)
And I really don’t want to have to continually be taking painkillers, because they cause their own set of problems. So we’ll just have to grin and bear it and move along as best we can with the Lord’s help and daily compassion. Oh yes, it’s still compassion time! That’s the Lord’s decree, not mine!
And Jeremiah said it best: ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’
Ah mih breddren, I don’t know about you all nuh, but right now I’m waiting for some of that new compassion and mercy to kick in in my life, especially my ole bod, that will enable me to go about doing the Lord’s work with definitely more strength and enthusiasm than I now feel. But enough about me, let’s turn to the scriptures.
And hear this first scripture for today on compassion. It deals with Jesus healing two blind men. As Jesus passed by, they cried out to Him; ‘Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David. And the multitude rebuked them (told them to keep quiet), because they should hold their peace; but they cried out the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.
And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed him.’ (Matt.20:30-34)
Oh what a wonderful person is our Jesus! And friends, yuh see there another essential trait of Jesus: He was never too busy to stop and help others. It’s something that we modern day believers ought to acquire too. We claim we’re so busy nowadays, but half the time we’re busy doing nothing, or busy doing inconsequential stuff when more important stuff is there to be done.
Now listen to Jude, Jesus’ half brother on the subject. ‘But ye beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying by the Holy Ghost. Keep yourselves in the LOVE of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference (distinction) And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted (defiled) by the flesh.’ (Jude 20-23)
And the scholars offer these explanations on those verses. ’20. The antidote for error is not simply to pull back from wrong but also to be built up in what is right, especially through clinging to God in prayer.’
’21. Here Jude stresses our role in being kept. In verse 1 he has already used a form of the same word ‘preserved’, most likely to denote God’s own role and ability in “keeping” His children in His grasp. Jude expects a literal return of Jesus.’
’22-23. An important factor in keeping one’s own faith active and vibrant is exercising it serving others. Even where there is danger or extreme immorality involved, God call on believers to mediate His LOVE for the fallen and share the gospel with the lost.’
Hope those explanations are helpful in understanding Jude’s words. And isn’t it interesting how Jesus’ two brothers, James and Jude did not believe Him while He was here on earth, but became faithful believers after He left. I guess that’s a most pertinent example of God’s saying through Zechariah: ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord.’ (Zech.4:6b)
And this last scripture on compassion comes from Peter, as he talks about the behaviour of wives and husbands. ‘Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, LOVE as brethren, be pitiful (tenderhearted), be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing (reviling) for railing (reviling): but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.’ (1 Pet.3:8-9)
Yeh friends, it’s all about living in understanding, compassion and brotherly LOVE; not returning evil for evil, but rather consuming evil with good as God desires of us, knowing that in so doing, we will be well rewarded in due course of time.
And yuh know what, the Lord hasn’t even waited till heaven comes to reward us, He’s had great compassion on us right down here on earth through the wonderful blessings that He’s already bestowed on us in our Thursday Blessings. Let’s declare them now in strong voice and sincere hearts.
‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Yes mih people, ALL those blessings are ours, we just have to receive them, then go out and share them with others. That’s why they were given to us. Much LOVE!
…unless we show true compassion…we cannot be considered true believers…
05 Jun 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a positive decision, Abednego, abundantly pardon, angry God, awesome power of God, backed up the Jordan River, be in my heart, beloved of God, blue in the face, boring death, bow down, brand new day, call upon him, Colorado, come up higher, dire need, discouragement, doing miracles, dr robert h schuller, exciting life, failure, fiery furnace, friend of Jesus, from shame to glory, God is still on the throne, grace, grateful, Guatemala, Hawaii, hell on earth, hope, Hour of Power Devotional, I will be with thee, I will move, in full control, in you I come alive, Jesus, let the wicked forsake his way, LOVE, loving-kindness, magnificent and magnanimous God, Maker, Meshsach, natural disasters, new mercies, New Mexico, no need to panic, noised abroad, parted the Red Sea, pass through the waters, promises, providence, seek ye the Lord, sent His only Son, shadrach, shall not be burned, shall not overflow thee, share His love, sinners, smelling of smoke, strength, success, talk, thanks, the flame scorch thee, the Lord's help, through the rivers, to die for us, Tuesday Mantra, unmerciful, unrighteous man, volcano, walk through the fire, weakness, while he is near, wildfires, wisdom, wise
Isaiah 43:2. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon (scorch) thee.
Well it’s a brand new day and brand new mercies are being noised abroad by our wonderful God! Give Him plenty, plenty thanks nuh people, for the grace and unadulterated LOVING-kindness He shows to us when we absolutely don’t deserve it. But that’s the kind of God He’s always been and will always be!
Look at how while we were still sinners He sent His only Son Jesus to die for us… Does that tell of an unmerciful and angry God? No way Jose! So let’s be wise and grateful and give Him thanks for ALL that He’s done, is doing and has promised to do for us in the future.
In the meanwhile let’s pray for those unfortunate people undergoing the volcano situation in Hawaii, and also in Guatemala where the Fuego volcano exploded a couple of days ago, causing much loss of life and many injuries. I tell you friends, a volcanic explosion is the closest thing we can come to hell here on earth. And remember too the people in Colorado and New Mexico where the first wild fires of the season are blazing away.
Brother! The natural disasters are beginning to pile up already. But friends, there is no need to panic, because our great and mighty God is still on the throne in full control of things!
And to help us handle whatever comes against us, here are these encouraging words from Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional, titled, ‘I Will Move…’ I’ve shared them before, but I think we need to share them again.
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 my people, is there any other way we can come up higher than through the Lord’s help? Absolutely not! So I implore us this morning to turn to Him for help in whatever situation or circumstance that we’re going through. Now he might not change or ease up the situation, but He will certainly give you the strength, wisdom and whatever you need to come through it successfully. That’s the magnanimous and magnificent God we serve!
Yuh see what he says in our Bit, through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah? ‘When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon (scorch) thee.’
Oh friends and fellow believers, what marvellous promises! And did the Lord keep them? Of course He did! Just look at how He parted the Red Sea for His people to cross over on dry land, while drowning Pharaoh and His Egyptian army behind them! Then check out how He backed up the Jordan River for them to cross over into the Promised Land!
And if you say that’s only water, He can’t handle fire, then think again and see how the Hebrew lads, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, when they refused to bow down to a golden image, survived the fiery furnace that was heated seven times hotter than normal, and came out not even smelling of smoke!
Mama Yo! That’s the amazing and awesome power of our God my brethren! And He is still in the business of doing miracles and such amazing things for His people, if we turn to Him and sincerely and humbly seek Him. As He said again through Isaiah: ‘Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.’ (Is.55:6) Are we doing that my brethren? For all our sakes, I sincerely hope so.
But just in case we aren’t, listen to the following verse, which expands on the first. ‘Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.’ (Is.55:7)
Oh friends, I don’t know why it’s so difficult for us to follow the Lord’s guidelines nuh, since He spells them out so plainly and simply! Especially when we’re in dire need of mercy and pardon! But we can only talk; talk till we’re blue in the face (smile), everyone still has to come to their own decision; to accept, or not accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour in their individual lives.
Let’s hope we ALL will make a positive decision, sooner, rather than later, for a time will come when it will be too late. Now for those of us who have already made it, let’s go home positively declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know in no uncertain terms, who and whose we are.
Altogether 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!’
Now let’s go out and share all of that with other unfortunate folks, as Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…if you don’t need your Maker…then who else do you need eh…Lucifer…hn, hn!…what a joke…
20 May 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a mighty wind, abound to every good work., an undeniable fact, baptized with the Holy ghost, call on the name of the Lord, cataclysmic, cloven tongues, confidence, Day of Pentecost, defeated the grave, disbelievers, dream dreams, drunk, fellowship, filled with the Holy Ghost, fire, foreign born, Galileans, God goes before us, God is able, God spoke the world into existence, gospel truth, He will make a way, hear the Word, in His name we overcome, Jerusalem, lifted up, lifting up our voices, make all grace abound, mockers, never fail, never leave us, new wine, open arms, Peter, pour out of my Spirit, praise, prophesy, raised to life, saved, see visions, songs of worship, sound from heaven, speak with other tongues, strength, sufficiency in all things, the Lord's Day, the uttermost part of the earth, upon all flesh, witnesses, worship
2 Corinthians 9:8. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.
It’s Sunday once again friends, the Lord’s Day, and all roads lead to His sanctuary, to praise, worship, fellowship, hear His word and receive strength and confidence to go out and do His work with diligence and excellence in the upcoming week!
And that’s partly why the Bit is this late; the ole fella finally darkened the church’s door after about three or four weeks of absence. Hn! I can’t remember being that long away from church for several years now. Anyway, we’re back, and did enjoy the fellowship and the reading of the word.
And as always, on Sundays we begin by opening our mouths, and lifting up our voices in songs of worship and praise. It helps to soften our hearts for the word that comes later. (smile) And today’s song of praise is simply titled ‘Our God is able.’ And that’s an undeniable fact. So let’s belt it out with sincere hearts and strong voices.
‘Our God is able. He will never fail. He is Almighty God. Greater than all we seek. Greater than all we ask. (Chorus: He has done great things. Lifted up. He defeated the grave. Raised to life. Our God is able. In His name we overcome. For the Lord, Our God is able.)
God is with us. God is on our side. He will make a way. Far above all we know. Far above all we hope. (Chorus) God is with us. He will go before us. He will never leave us. He will never leave us. God is for us. He has open arms. He will never fail us. He will never fail us. (Chorus -repeat).’
Oh friends, every word we sang there is indeed gospel truth, for our God is indeed able, as Bruh Paul declared to the Corinthians in his second missive to them. ‘And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.’ What an awesome God we serve and worship my brethren!
And if you don’t believe, just look at what happened on the Day of Pentecost, which the church is celebrating today. Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He told the disciples to remain in Jerusalem: ‘For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.’ (Acts 1:5)
…But ye shall receive power, after that (when) the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.’ (Acts 1:8)
Yeh friends, who could make such a remarkable promise and keep it eh? ONLY our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! And we read it every year at Pentecost time, but it still boggles our imagination.
The Good Book says that on the Day of Pentecost, ‘they were all with one accord (purpose or mind) in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven (divided) tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.’ (Acts 2:1-4)
Wow, mih people! Can you imagine that scene back in ole Jerusalem on that first day of Pentecost? It must have been really wild, since there were oodles of people in Jerusalem at that time, many of them foreign born, and when the disciples emerged from their house and began to speak in several languages, so that those foreign born could understand in their own languages. Mama Yo! It must have been almost cataclysmic! (smile)
‘Now when this was noised abroad (the sound of the wind occurred) the multitude came together and were confounded (confused), because every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans?
And how hear we every man in our own tongue (language or dialect) wherein we were born? …And they were all amazed and, and were in doubt (perplexed), saying one to another, What meaneth this?’ (Acts 2:6-8, 12-13)
Oh fellow believers, ONLY our God is great enough to turn things on their head like that! But as always there are disbelievers and mockers, who said that the men were drunk. But Peter got up and preached his finest sermon that day, informing them that it was the coming to pass of an old promise of our God, from the days of the prophet Joel:
‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God. I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams… And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ Acts 2:17,21)
Yeh mih people, the Lord promised many other signs and wonders within that passage, but the most important was the last one; that whosoever should call on His name will be saved. Glory Hallelujah! The most glorious promise in the Good Book!
And that also marked the beginning of the Holy Spirit coming to dwell within every believer to lead and guide them in the ways of the Lord. So it’s obvious that our God is able my brethren…able to do all that’s necessary to keep us going. Please don’t ever doubt God’s ability, and give Him plenty thanks and praise, for that is wisdom at its highest. Much LOVE!
…if God could speak the world into existence…what other mighty works can’t He do eh…
30 Apr 2018
by randyobrien50
in Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: archangels, as far as the east is from the west, carries them in his arms, Frances Crosby, guard his children, his thoughts perish, honour, hope of eternal salvation, I will praise the Lord, I will sing praises unto my God, Jesus, justice, keepeth truth for ever, loud hosannas ring, love unbounded, love walk with Jesus, loves the righteous, loving kindness, mercy, noisy, our blessed redeemer, praise him, private room, put not your trust, removed our transgressions, Rock, share His love, spirit departs, St. Michael's Hospital, strength, testing, the fatherless, the god of Jacob, the One and Only, the oppressed, the Son of man, watches over the strangers, while I live, widow
Psalm 146:2. While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
Here I am again my brethren, writing from the ninth-floor neurological section of St. Michael’s Hospital in the great city of Toronto. I could have written the Bit before, but at first I was somewhat on the lazy side and slept out the whole morning, then in the afternoon my family came, as well as the families of the other three patients in the room, so it was somewhat noisy and inappropriate. That’s why I wanted a private room, but apparently they don’t have any here. But that’s okay, we’ll manage with the Lord’s help, as always.
Now it’s somewhat quieter so here we are on a Sunday, of course opening with praise and worship, something from Frances Crosby called ‘Praise Him!’ And do I ever have cause to praise our great God, so please do it with me. In strong voice and sincere hearts let’s sing at evening song. (smile) ‘Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer! Sing, O Earth, His wonderful love proclaim! Hail Him! Hail Him! Highest archangels in glory; Strength and honor give to His holy Name! Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children, In His arms He carries them all day long.
(Refrain: Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness; Praise Him! Praise Him! Ever in joyful song! Praise Him!) Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer! For our sins He suffered, and bled, and died. He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation, Hail Him! Hail Him! Jesus the Crucified. Sound His praises! Jesus who bore our sorrows, Love unbounded, wonderful, deep and strong.
(Refrain) Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer! Heav’nly portals loud with hosannas ring! Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever and ever; Crown Him! Crown Him! Prophet, and Priest, and King! Christ is coming! over the world victorious, Pow’r and glory unto the Lord belong. (Refrain)’
Yes friends, Jesus is the ONE and ONLY ONE! That’s why I’ve decided like the psalmist did, that ‘While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.’
We can’t do any better than that my people, but we can surely do worse. Like the psalmist continues: ‘Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man (human being), in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, (his spirit departs) he returneth to the earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.’ (Ps.146:3-4)
And that’s no lie, as we all know. But what some of us refuse to realize is what the psalmist says after that. ‘Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever: Which executeth judgement (justice) for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry.
The Lord looseth (gives freedom to) the prisoners: The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord LOVETH the righteous: The Lord preserveth (watches over) the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down (makes crooked). The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy Gods, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord.’ (Ps.146:5-10)
And that penultimate sentence is the gospel truth friends. Our great God will reign for ever, because there is none else like Him. He made the world and all there is, so how can anybody or thing be greater than Him eh? No way Jose! And until mankind truly realizes that fact, we’ll always be in trouble. But our God is also merciful and magnanimous. He doesn’t want to punish or get rid of us all who don’t live according to His rules and regulations.
Listen to Bruh David, as he explains: ‘The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous (abounding) in mercy (LOVING-kindness). He will not always chide (strive): neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us for our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy (LOVING-kindness) toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame (understands our constitution); he remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more (not remember it). But the mercy (LOVING-kindness) of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children.’ (Ps.103:8-17)
Yes, my people, that’s the wonderful kind of God we serve and worship. Let’s shout it out to the world, to the many who don’t know Him, or simply refuse to accept Him because they think He is otherwise than He really is. And the best way we can do that is by sharing His LOVE and mercy with the unfortunates of the world. You know what we need to do, so I won’t belabor the point. (smile)
In closing I’d just like to say thanks to all of you who have written in with your prayers and good wishes. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart and appreciate them all. Please keep on reading the Bit and letting it be a catalyst for your LOVE walk with Jesus. Much LOVE!
…there is no better walk…than that with Jesus…
P.S. To my St. Francis Parishioners, sorry I had to miss our Spring Fling on Saturday night. I just know that it was most excellent, because that’s how we party. Much LOVE!
21 Apr 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bad day, a better tomorrow, a greater purpose, adversity, an enduring daily trust, Anselm, aspires to inspire, assertive action, at the mercy of others, beautiful blossoms, Bible Study, blocking traffic, Bobby Schuller, boulders of ice, brown grass, build faith, built on taking chances, Christ's promises, Christian faith, come against us, count it all joy, do something for Christ, don't let others decide, enable us to do anything, escape, faith, faith is not a leap, faithful promise, fall into divers temptations, fight for your happiness, fleshly suffering, God can do the impossible, God has bruised, God is good, God uses trouble, gospel truth, grow in faith, hard work, heavenly Father, help, ice storm, in all their glory, inconvenience, joy, joyful terms, lacking nothing, laugh, lean on God, learn to value yourself, leaves, look back, Look to God, LOVE, mature, men of faith, Mother Earth, my brethren, natural response, negative experiences, perfect, poor self-image, positive work, press on, produces patience, raise our self-image, risk the usual, running afoul of, same old, settle for the ordinary, short memories, shy away, specks of green, spiritual growth, spring has sprung, stand fast, strength, take a chance, take advantage of, take control of our lives, testing, the enemy, the trials of life, the trying of faith, tough times, trust in God, various trials, victory, wisdom
James 1:2. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (various trials).
At last friends, at long last, some of the ice that’s covered the ground from the ice storm a week ago has finally melted…Yay! And we can now see some of Mother Earth’s dirtyish brown grass with specks of green thrown in for good measure. Glory be!
But not all of the ice has melted, there are still several patches of it all around. And from my kitchen window I can see about three or four solid boulders of ice lying at the side of the road, and the big lump of ice that clogged the entrance to my lane when they cleaned the main road last week is still there, blocking traffic and making it difficult to enter the lane.
But God is good! Let’s remember that, and a few weeks from now when spring has finally sprung and the leaves and beautiful blossoms are out in all their glory, we’ll look back and laugh at this inconvenience. Hn, hn! Yeh mih people, it’s a good thing the Lord blessed us with short memories.
However, it’s Saturday, so let’s turn our attention to some of this week’s quotes from our friend Anselm, as he aspires to inspire us to a better tomorrow. Here is the first one: ‘Learn to value yourself, which means fight for your happiness.’
Oh my people, too many of us don’t value ourselves highly enough, we have a poor self-image, thus others take advantage of us. Therefore we need to raise our self- image through Bible study and assertive action if we want to control our lives and thus our happiness. And the next quote is basically about the same thing; taking control of our lives.
‘Don’t let other people decide whether you are going to have a fantabulous or bad day, make that decision yourself.’ Again, too many of us allow others to run our lives and decide what kind of day we’re going to have. That is counter productive friends. We have to learn to stand on our own two feet and make those kinds of decision for ourselves, otherwise we’ll always be at the mercy of others.
And the final quote says: ‘If you are not willing to risk the usual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.’ In other words, take a chance! And that is gospel truth! If you never take chances and just stay with the tried and true, the same old, same old, then the same old, same old is all you’ll ever get.
Our society and our Christian faith was built on our forefathers and the early Christians taking chances, even when it meant running afoul of the authorities and thus possible loss of life. And as we Christians know, whenever we step out to do something for Christ, the enemy will most likely come against us and try to prevent us from doing it.
But because of Christ’s promises and His power to enable us to do anything, we don’t have to shy away, but press on regardless. And we do that through faith. But faith doesn’t just come like by wishing it. On the contrary it’s something we have to build, through constant hard work and adversity.
And Cousin Bobby (Bobby Schuller- Hour of Power) says that ‘Faith is not a leap, but an enduring daily trust that God can do the impossible in your life.’ And that’s no lie! Each and every day we awaken we have to learn to keep the trust in God we earned the day before, and to build on it, so that tomorrow it will be even stronger. That’s how we build faith my brethren – from day to day, through whatever trial comes our way.
That brings us to our Bit, some rather interesting words from James, Jesus’ brother, in his epistle to the Christians dispersed around the world. ‘My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (various trials).’ Now who wants to find trials joyful eh? Nobody! But friends, that’s the only way we’ll grow in faith.
As James continues: ‘Knowing this, that the trying (testing) of your faith worketh (produces) patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire (complete), wanting (lacking) nothing.’ James 1:3-4) Yeh friends, as long as we are believers, our faith will always be tested, and we need to stand fast so that we can grow.
And the scholars got it right: ‘1:4. The natural response to adversity is to escape it. But God uses trouble to mature His people.’ Oh, we certainly know it’s rough, and do try to escape, but much to our dismay, that’s just part of the life of faith we’re trying live.
The scholars further tell us: ‘1:2-3. In this epistle on Christian living, James opens with a most crucial topic: the trials of life. These verses describe the various testings – whether from the world and Satan, or from God – into which godly Christians fall (Gr. peripipto).
These “negative” experiences are to be accepted with great joy, not for the sake of the trial itself but because of the positive work God can accomplish through the testing….It is not merely one’s presence in such trials but one’s victory over them that brings spiritual growth and maturity. Those Christians whom God can use the most are those whom God has bruised the most.’
Unfortunately mih people growing in spiritual faith is not easy, as can be seen from the lives of all great men of faith, especially Jesus. But they all kept constantly looking to the heavenly Father for the strength to carry on, and He gave it to them. Likewise, if we look to our heavenly Father for strength and wisdom to carry on in tough times, He WILL give it to us.
So friends, whatever is coming against us right now, let’s try and think of it in joyful terms nuh, (smile) believing that God is allowing it for a greater purpose than we can imagine, and lean on Him for the help to come through it successfully. He will not disappoint us. That’s His faithful promise! Much LOVE!
…spiritual growth…is based on fleshly suffering…
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