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!
04 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A prayer for change, adhered, another week of work, balance of life, be in thy mouth, body, calamitous, calamity, chiding, children of Israel, circumstances, contention, day and night, depressing, disconsolate, do whatever I want, doubting, dreary, Egypt, evil, exodus, face challenges, faith, fellowship, Friday chant, frivolity, fun, further your glorious kingdom, generous help, glory hallelujah, glowing sunshine, God's Word, guideline, half-truths, holy spirit, hope, image, indulge, Israelites, Jesus Christ, Joshua, joy, lack of water, laughing, LOVE, Massah, meditate, mental dial, Meribah, mind, miracles firsth hand, moment od prayer, moods, morning mist, negative feelings, omnipotent, partying, Pharaoh, prayer, prosperous, relaxation, remove God from our lives, renewed and refreshed, responsible, rest, richly blessed, second hand, self-pity, slave work, soul, sovereign, springtime returns, success, surrender, tempted the Lord, testing, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, Thank You Lord, the book of the law, the prince of darkness, the Rock, the sanctuary, the sun breaks through, the weekend, thy way O God, time to play, traffic jams, travelling, trust, truth, trying times, turning away from God, understand, ungodly world, who is so great a God, wiles, work diligently
Psalm 77:13. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary (holiness): who is so great a God as our God?
And the day that the working people LOVE so much, Friday, has finally rolled around again. That’s why there are so many glorious and joyous shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes! I couldn’t make it even one more day in this slave work nuh! At last the weekend! My time to play and do whatever I want! Oh thank you ever so much Lord for Fridays! Glory Hallelujah!’
And in these trying times of early waking up and much travelling to get back and forth to work with all the traffic jams and otherwise, you can understand the sentiment of the ordinary working man. And though we are entitled to do whatever we want with the weekend, there is a wise and a foolish way to use it; the latter involving excessive partying and frivolity.
But listen to the better and wiser way to use our weekends as we chant our Friday Chant. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Now doesn’t that make much more sense as to how we use our weekends? It surely does! We get a better balance of life, including the strength and refreshed spirit so that we can work diligently the following week.
And today my fellow believers in Christ, I want to share with you a prayer from Gramps Schuller’s (Robert H. Schuller) Hours of Power Devotional. This one is titled, ‘A Prayer for Change.’ And I know that many of us are in dire need of change (s) in our lives. So please pray with me.
‘O God, when a life has been so richly blessed as mine has been, it’s not right for me not to be laughing! I confess that I am responsible for my moods. I have no right to selfishly indulge in negative feelings of self-pity.
It’s time for me to change my mental dial, Lord. You are helping me. This will be the moment when the sun breaks through the parted clouds, and the springtime returns after winter. Thank you, Lord!
The dreary, depressing, disconsolate mood disappears like the morning mist in the glowing sunshine of your LOVE. And joy moves in! And hope begins to build up within me! And a beautiful feeling of LOVE starts to surround me! Thank you, God, for the great things you are doing within me now in this moment of prayer. Amen.’
Oh friends, oh friends, I do hope that depressing mood has lifted and the hope, joy and LOVE of our heavenly Father has once more captured our lives, because it’s definitely what we need to confidently face the challenges and calamitous circumstances of this dangerous and evil world!
Now let’s turn to our Bit, which shows us that that very change in our moods and thinking are quite possible because of the outstanding, magnificent and omnipotent God we serve and worship. ‘Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary (holiness): who is so great a God as our God?’
And I know that some of you are tired hearing about how great our God is, but my brethren, that’s exactly what makes Him our God; His greatness! And until we fully understand just how great and wonderful He is, we will never be fully able to surrender, to give our entire beings into His wonderful care. So just bear with the ole fella nuh, (smile) you know I’ll never lead you astray.
And we’ve seen over the past few days how our God played with Pharaoh until he let the Israelites go, and all the wonders the Lord did during their exodus from Egypt and those in the wilderness too. Now we come to one more marvelous wonder where water was miraculously supplied.
As usual the Israelites were complaining, this time about the lack of water. And as was his wont, Moses cried out to the Lord for guidance and direction. The Lord told him to take his rod and the elders with him and go on before the people.
‘Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shall smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
And he called the name of the place Massah (lit. Tempted), and Meribah (lit. Contention), because of the chiding (contention) of the children of Israel, and because they tempted (tested) the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?’ (Ex.17:6-7)
Oh friends, what a foolish and ignorant people! After all the signs and wonders that the Lord had done in their sight, they still doubted His presence and His power! Chuh!
The truth of the matter though is that we can’t be too harsh on the Israelites, because we are doing the exact same thing right now. We are doubting and turning away from God in droves, aided and abetted by the wiles and deceitful half-truths of the prince of darkness, who rules this current evil world.
The only difference here my people, is that the Israelites saw God’s miracles first hand, but we only have second hand accounts of them. But nonetheless, we have seen our Christian societies grow and prosper when were a truly Christian people.
So what has happened to change our outlook so drastically eh, that we’re now trying our best to take God completely out of our lives? Oh friends, that is indeed a fool’s wisdom!
How many times during the course of history have we seen societies that have grown great while serving and worshipping the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and when they got too big for their britches, the Lord took away His favour and protection and they eventually wasted away, ignominiously fell into the bowels of history?
We tend to overlook, forget, or simply ignore this seminal bit of scripture, the Lord’s advice to Joshua, when He made him leader of the Israelites after Moses’ death.
‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (shall constantly be in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’ (Josh.1:8)
That my friends, has been, and will always be a society’s guideline to success. We see it in the very behaviour of the Israelites; when they adhered to God’s Word, they prospered; when they didn’t, they suffered serious calamity.
May we today understand this principle and do our best to adhere to the Word of our great, mighty, sovereign and omnipotent God, because that is wisdom to the nth degree. Much LOVE!
…it’s ever so foolish to turn away from the ONE who created you…in His…might, power and image…
05 Dec 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a tree planted by the rivers of waters, ambassadors, belly and backbone, blessed are the righteous, blessed is he that readeth, blessings, bounden duty, break the enemy's yoke, brings forth fruit in his season, charles stanley, children of men, commandments, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, darkness, evil, fall by the wayside, followers of Christ, for the time is at hand, formula for success, give God thanks, glory to God, God is ever-faithful, gospel truth, hate, his leaf shall not wither, in the way of sinners, Joshua, keep those things which are written therein, lead a horse to water, leave all the consequences to Him, LOVE, lusts of the flesh, make thy way prosperous, meditate on God's Word, mercies, miraculous occasion, obey God, our heavenly Father, prosperous, put God's word into action, rebelled against God, rebuked by God, sits in the seat of the scornful, smart money on Jesus, spread God's word all over the world, success, successful, suffered God's wrath, the Birth of Christ, the book of the law, the breath of life, the counsel of the ungodly, the Creator of the universe, the Holy One of Israel, the One and Only True God, the things of the world, they that hear the words of this prophecy, thy Redeemer, unfaithfulness, war, what God promises He will deliver
Revelation 1:3. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Oh Friends, what a beautiful Saturday morning to be alive! Glory to God! Just imagine that in a mere three weeks time nuh, we’ll be celebrating that marvelous, miraculous occasion; the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the manger in Bethlehem! Oh how wonderful and ever-LOVING our heavenly Father has been to us!
Please remember to acknowledge Him and give Him thanks every time you open your eyes to a brand new day. That is the least we can do for still enjoying the breath of life and the many new blessing and mercies He has promised to rain down on us every day. And we know that He’s ever-faithful, so whatever He promises, He WILL deliver.
That’s why I can’t understand why so many people refuse to accept Almighty God, the Creator of the universe as the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD, especially after all the wonderful things He’s done over the years for the undeserving children of men. But that’s their loss, and our gain.
However our God is so wonderful that instead of simply letting the unbelievers fall unnoticed by the wayside, He requires us to tell them about Him, spread His word all over the world, and live a life that shows His word in action. That is our job, our bounden duty as believers, as true and loyal followers of Jesus Christ, as His earthly ambassadors.
Unfortunately though, it doesn’t seem as though we are doing such a good job because people are turning away from Jesus in droves and the world is filled with untold evil and darkness and war and hate, all the things He doesn’t stand for.
Now why is that eh mih people? Is it because we are paying too much attention to the things of the world, indulging too much in the foolish lusts of our flesh, plus not having enough belly and backbone to stand up to enemy and his evil cronies?
In addition to all of that, can it also be that we’re not following the wisdom of our Bit, which so boldly proclaims: ‘Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.’
Oh friends, I do believe it’s a combination of all those things. But if we want to be faithful believers we have to break the yoke of the enemy in our lives. And the only true and lasting way to do that is to take our Bit seriously; regularly read the Lord’s word, meditate on it, talk about it and put it into action.
And I didn’t make this up, but it came straight from our God, where He solemnly warned Joshua when he took over leadership of the Israelites after the death of Moses. ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (shall constantly be in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and thou shalt have good success.’ (Josh.1:8)
Oh friends, that is one of the most important verses in the Bible, and if we would only take it to heart, sincerely follow it, then as God has promised, we will be prosperous and successful! What’s so difficult in that to understand eh, especially since it’s been proven many a time down through the ages?
Ah mih breddren, as they say, you can only lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. (smile) Likewise I can only guide us to the Good Book and what it says, I can’t force us to seriously embrace it and put it into action.
Just remember though, that all the smart money has been placed on Jesus, and when the time comes, if you’re not in His pool, then crapaud smoke yuh pipe!
Now let’s end up this series of messages with some more scriptures that corroborate our Bit. Listen to Isaiah as he talks about Israel’s unfaithfulness being rebuked by God. ‘Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.
O that thou hadst hearkened to (heeded, obeyed) my commandments! Then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea. Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels (body) like the gravel (grains of sand) thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.’ (Is.48:17-19)
Oh my people, all yuh hear what the Lord said in those two passages. If you obey, you will prosper and succeed. If you don’t, then you’re going to pay a steep price. And that is exactly what happened to the Israelites, several times too. When they obeyed they prospered, but like us, then they believed it was their own work that brought the prosperity and they foolishly rebelled against God and suffered His wrath.
Anyway friends, let’s end with these wise words from Psalm 1 – Blessed are the righteous – which most of us know quite well, but obviously don’t pay sufficient attention to.
‘Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly (wicked), nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate (ponder by talking to oneself) day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers (channels) of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.’ (Ps.1:1-3)
There you have it again friends, the formula for success and prosperity in this fallen, sinful world! Now please, I implore us to be wise and use it to the fullest nuh, for that’s what is required of us by our God. Much LOVE!
…as Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) keeps saying…the best way to live this life…is to obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him… and that’s gospel truth…
25 Nov 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: agony, Babylon, bounden duty, cell phones, concrete jungle, cried out for solace, declare his glory among the heathen, discomfort, drought, eye candy, fleshly nature, give me the beans, glory hallelujah, glory to God, graven images, great is the Lord, greatly to be praised, grin and bear it, hanging out with Jesus, I am halfway home, I'm glad to be alive, I'm not focusing on the past, I'm not looking back, idolatrous society, idolatry, idols, Jeremiah, keep yourselves from idols, little children, LOVE, meditating on god's word, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, our heavenly Father, pain, prosperity, reverential awe, show forth his salvation, sinful stuff, sing unto the Lord, success, technological toys, that too would pass, the breath of life, the gods of the people are idols, the land of graven images, the long and short of the story, the Lord won't give you more than you can bear, to a glorious future with Jesus, Wednesday Wail, worship the Lord, worthless things
1 John 5:21. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
Oh Friends, I don’t know how I’m going to do this nuh, most likely very slowly, but the Bit has to go out come rain, sleet or snow. (smile)
The long and short of the story is that I went into the concrete jungle (Toronto) yesterday, on my birthday, no less, to have a procedure done on my ‘arthritically’ challenged right shoulder.
Now everything went okay, I took the bus and the train like the last time I ventured into the city.There was some pain in the shoulder, but nothing to worry about.
However later on in the night when the local anesthetic had worn off… oh brother, did that shoulder ever give me beans! The good-looking, young, white female doctor that did the procedure did say that I might have some discomfort.
Hn! But this was certainly much more than discomfort. I couldn’t move it to do anything without an agonizing pain coursing through my body. Even at rest the shoulder was still pulsing and throbbing. And when I did go to bed, sometime after 2 a.m….Hn!…it was pure agony.
I just couldn’t find a comfortable place to rest my arm. Every time I thought I’d found one, a couple seconds later, the pain flared up. And believe me Friends, I have a decent pain threshold, but this pain is something else.
I’m chuckling here now, because when I make a mistake, I just back up and type over again, because going up to the mouse to correct it is not a treat. Surprisingly though, I can move my fingers over the keyboard okay, but moving my arm away from my body is another story.
Anyway, when I finally realized the enormity of the situation, I took a pain killer, but it obviously wasn’t enough, because a couple hours later I had to come downstairs and get a couple more, and shortly after five the constant throbbing and pulsing eventually eased up.
But moving my hand was still painful. And believe me, I knew that that too would pass, and that the Lord wouldn’t give me more than I could bare, but it was so agonizing and temperamental that I eventually cried our for solace from our heavenly Father. I guess between Him and the painkillers they finally worked. I couldn’t even walk and allow my arm to swing, I had to keep it anchored to my leg.
Thankfully, the worse seems to be over now, though I still have a hard time moving the old arm. Glory to God! Ohhh! I just went to the mouse and the pain shook me up. But I can only grin and bear it.So you can see the kind of birthday I had. (smile)
Anyway, enough about my problems. It’s Wednesday, that means it’s time for our Wednesday Wail. So let’s wail nuh, enthusiastically and convincingly. All together now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Yeh mih people, in spite of the excruciating pain, I am glad to be alive this Wednesday morning, just looking forward to a glorious future with Jesus. I do hope that you are too, because there’s nothing as rewarding as hanging out with Jesus in this earthly life.
But to do that successfully, we have to do what our Bit says. ‘Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.’ Now that in general is an enormous task, but even more so in our society of plenty eye candy and sinful stuff, that calls out to our fleshly nature.
Here’s how Jeremiah said it in his prophecy against Babylon. ‘A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up; for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon (insane with) their idols.’ (Jer.50:38)
Oh Friends, Jeremiah could have been talking about us, because we are indeed a land of graven images and very insane with our idols. A good example of that is the pedestal on which we’ve put our cell-phones and other new technological toys.
Too many people just can’t operate without them. They have to be constantly checking this and checking that, from one social media site to another. I doubt the Lord is taking very kindly to this explosion of technological idolatry in which we’re currently engaging.
Oh yes, they do have a very useful purpose, but when you can’t do or live without them for even a few minutes, then you are crossing the line.
And we’ll end with some wise words from Bruh David in his psalm of thanksgiving: ‘Sing unto the Lord, all the earth; show forth from day to day his salvation. Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations. For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared (held in reverential awe) above all gods.
For all the gods of the people are idols (worthless things): but the Lord made the heavens. Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place. Give unto the Lord, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.’ (1 Chr.16:23-29)
Yes Friends, that is exactly what we need to do in this godless, extremely sinful and idolatrous society we’re currently living in. And unfortunately, until we return to genuinely worshipping Almighty God, the Creator and Controller of the universe, the society will just keep going downhill.
So my fellow believers, let’s ramp up our efforts to stop the idolatry and sinfulness in whatever way we can nuh, for it is our bounden duty to do so, and we haven’t been doing such a good job, that’s partly why it’s as bad as it is. Much LOVE!
…only by seriously meditating on God’s word…and obeying His commandments…can our society return to prosperity and success…
27 Aug 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A Prayer for Success, Absalom, as waters that pass away, be humble, be open, Bruh David, communicate with God, confidence, converse, correctable, creative imagination, direction, educable, failure is never final, faith, faith stimulates success, glory hallelujah, glory to God, God's great earth, God-given powers, Gramps Schuller, guidance, hear God's voice, hope, hope sustains success, Hour of Power Devotional, I cried unto the Lord, I laid me down to sleep, I will both lay me down in peace and sleep, I will not be afraid, inherit the earth, iniquity, Jesus Christ, Job, lift up thy face without spot, misery, none shalt make thee afraid, O Lord thou art a shield, obedience to god, obeying Almighty God, prayer of confidence in God, prepare thine heart, responsibility, rest in safety, robert h schuller, see God's plan, Selah, steadfast, stretch forth thine hand, success, success is never-ending, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the largesse of God, the Lord sustained me, the one who lifts up my head, the wisest thing, there is hope, thou hast put gladness in my heart, thou Lord only makes me dwell in safety, thou shalt be as the morning, thou shalt be secure, thou shalt shine forth, thy life shall be brighter than noonday, time waits on no one, trust, what I am is more important than what I do, wickedness, words of wisdom, work of nature, Zophar
Psalm 4:7-8. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn (grain) and their wine increased. I will both lay me down in peace and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.
Well Friends, it’s another glorious day on God’s great earth! Glory Hallelujah! And everyday that we wake up to behold His awesome work of nature, means that He still has something important planned for us to accomplish in His name. There is always good reason to what we consider God’s madness. (smile)
So it’s up to us to converse, to communicate with Him every morning that we arise, and find out what He desires of us on that particular day. It’s our responsibility to ask for guidance and direction, wisdom and blessings, so that we can bless others, because that’s basically what we’re about; spreading the largesse of our great and wonderful God.
And on this fantastic Thursday morning at the end of August 2015 … but can you believe that August is almost done already? It just began the other day with the Caribana Festivities. Now school’s going to be reconvened in another few days. Time truly is waiting on no one.
Anyway, as I was saying, on this fantastic Thursday morning in August, let’s check out this poem from Gramps Schuller’s (Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional, which I believe I’ve shared before, but which is still relevant and necessary for us to partake of, especially in these rough and tough times. It’s aptly titled ‘A Prayer for Success.’
Please pray with me. ‘As I become a success with your help, Lord, let me never forget that what I am is more important than what I do. Faith stimulates success. Hope sustains success. So I cannot and I dare not succeed without your power, peace, and pressure in my life, Jesus Christ. Amen.’
Then Gramps adds a footnote. ‘Be open. Be humble. Correctable. Educable. Then you will hear God’s voice. You will see God’s plan. Grab on to it, give it all you’ve got, and you will inherit the earth.’
Remember too that ‘Success is never- ending and failure is never final to that person who knows how to revitalize and renew the God-given powers of creative imagination.’ Those are also words of wisdom from Gramps Schuller, and if we practice it all, we will surely succeed in whatever endeavours we undertake.
Yes my people, success is not easy, but it surely is attainable if we work with God, in bringing to pass the plans He has for our lives. Now let’s look at our Bit; wonderful promises which derive from our obedience to God
‘Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn (grain) and their wine increased. I will both lay me down in peace and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.’
Oh Friends, obeying Almighty God is the wisest thing we can ever do on this earth!
Now listen to Job’s friend Zophar, as he continues to lecture him, believing that he is a sinner, but also reminding him that the Lord will forgive his sin, if he confesses and repents.
‘If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him; If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles (tents). For then thou shalt lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear: Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away:
And thine age (life) shall be clearer (brighter) than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning. And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety. Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee (court your favour).’ (Job 11:13-19)
Oh what gospel truth my brethren! Though Zophar was falsely accusing his buddy Job, he was giving him excellent advice, advice that is still pertinent and relevant to our situations today. If we confess our sins to God, and repent of our wrong doing, He is merciful to forgive us and lift us up like we can’t imagine or fathom.
Now let’s end with some more pertinent and relevant words of wisdom from Bruh David, taken from Psalm 3 – A prayer of confidence in God. This is when he fled from the rebellion of his son Absalom. ‘But thou, O Lord, art a shield for (around) me; my glory, and the lifter up of (the one who lifts up) mine head.
I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill (mountain). Selah. I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.’ (Ps.3:3-6)
Oh my people, my people, what confidence flows from our trust and faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Bruh David was running for his life from his son, but he still slept in peace, and awakened safely because the God of his fathers, whom he adored and generally obeyed, kept him safe and gave him the confidence not to be fearful, regardless of how many enemies surrounded him.
Oh glory to God my brethren, for He will do the same for us today, if we place our utmost faith and trust in Him. So please, let’s be wise and do that nuh, for anything else is mere foolishness. Much LOVE!
…when we truly trust in our saviour Jesus Christ…a confidence so great rises up in us…that no amount of enemies surrounding us, can shake it…
27 Jun 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a failure, accord with the Spirit, be not deceived, be not weary in well doing, Bruh Paul, CEO, consequences, consideration, contentment, courage, destructive, disheartening, do good to all men, eternal life, evil desires of the flesh, evil world, faith, forgivness, friends, Galatians, God is not mocked, god the father, God's Word, goodness, greatness, hard work, harvest, he that soweth to his flesh, his wife exhorted Him to, honesty, humility, if we faint not, in due season you shall reap, Jesus Christ, life everlasting, lose heart, moral of the story, negative sowing, opportunity, outwit God, perseverance, perspective, reap corruption, reconciliation, rewarded with, seeds, success, that shall he also reap, the grass will wither and die, the Holy Spirit, the household of faith, the incorruptible seed, the life of your family, trust, universal truths, what ever a man sows
Galatians 6:7. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Greetings mih breddren on this wonderful Saturday morning in early summer! And as Bruh Paul said to Galatians in his opening remarks: ‘Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world (age), according to the will of God and our Father. To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.’ (Gal.1:3-5)
Yes Friends, I am wishing those sentiments on us all this morning, so that we begin the day on the right foot; in lockstep with Jesus, for there is no other wise and sensible way to start your day. Glory to God!
And today we’ll get right into our Bit because I have an interesting story to share on the subject. And the Bit is something that we all know and like to quote, but don’t really take time to contemplate and ponder it, before we do many of our actions. And it simply says: ‘Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.’
Oh my people, that is like the number one rule in God’s domain. Whatever you do, whatever you give out, the same will be returned to you, like a boomerang, and usually in greater abundance too. So it behoves us to be very careful in what we say, do and think in this life.
And as Bruh Paul continues: ‘For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.’ (Gal.6:8)
And we have some explanations from the scholars. ‘6:7. Mocked (outwitted, outfoxed): To disobey God’s commands and then escape divine punishment would be to outwit God, thus making a mockery of Him and His Word. Soweth means “does,” “practices.” Reap could also be said “be requited,” “recompensed.” Contextually, the Galatians cannot disregard the command to support their Christian instructors (v.6) and escape divine discipline.’
‘6:8. For expands the principle of verse 7 to wider application. Soweth to his flesh means to conduct oneself by the evil dictates and desires of the sinful nature, thus practising the deeds of the flesh. (5:19-21). Such a person shall…reap corruption, that is be requited with eternal destruction. Soweth to the spirit means to live by His enabling help in accord with the Spirit’s prompting and leading, thus cultivating the fruit of 5:22-23. Such a person shall…reap life everlasting, that is be rewarded with eternal life.’
Now listen to this story that dramatically brings out the truth in our Bit. And I don’t remember where or when, or from whom or what I got a copy of this story, but it’s been sitting on a chair in study for eons. I might even have shared it before, and if so, it certainly deserves sharing again. Some of you might even know it.
And the story goes thus: A certain successful Christian business man thought it was time for him to retire, but didn’t want to be replaced by any of his family or his directors. So he came up with this wonderful plan to give a group of young executives each a seed to plant, and at the end of a certain period of time, he would have them bring in their plants, and the one he liked the best, the owner would become the new CEO.
Well after a few weeks everybody was talking about their wonderful plants, except this one fellow named Jim. Despite all the water, manure and effort he put into it, nothing would sprout from the seed. He felt he had killed it and considered himself a failure.
A year later the boss called for the plants. But Jim’s pot was still empty. He considered not going to work, but his wife exhorted him to be honest and go with his empty pot. Now we can all imagine how Jim felt when he got to work that morning and saw all the others with a wide variety of beautiful plants in their pots, while his was the only empty one.
But to cut a long story short, Jim became the next CEO, because the boss had given them all boiled seeds which could not grow. All of them, except Jim, had changed the seeds, that’s how they managed to get such beautiful plants.
And the moral of the story is that Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring back the seed the boss had given them. Please pay special attention to that story my brethren, because you can find yourself in such a situation at any time.
Now hear these universal truths about planting. ‘If you plant honesty, you will reap trust. If you plant goodness, you will reap friends. If you plant humility, you will reap greatness. If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment. If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective. If you plant hard work, you will reap success. If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation. If you plant faith in Christ, you will reap a harvest. So be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you reap later.’
And Friends, those are words of absolute and incomparable truth! Whatever we sow, at some later date, we will surely reap the same thing. It’s as simple as that. So please let’s be very careful in what we sow, because the consequences of negative sowing can be very disheartening and destructive.
And Bruh Paul continues to the Galatians. ‘And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not (do not lose heart). As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.’ (Gal.6:9-10)
And we’ll end with this paraphrase of 1 Peter. ‘We are the grass that will wither and die, but the incorruptible seed of God’s Word will live forever – sow it daily into the life of your family.’ (1 Pet.1:23-25)
And that’s wonderful advice my people. So please let’s get wise and just do it nuh, for it will greatly benefit us as individuals, our families and the world in which we live. Much LOVE!
…if one wants to reap a good and plentiful harvest…then one needs to plant good and plentiful seeds…simple logic…
25 Jun 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ability, be glad and rejoice, be strong and of a good courage, become proud, blessings, Bruh David, common sense, courage, dedication, depart from evil and do good, DETERMINATION, earthly life, faith, fount of blessings, give it all they've got, give thanks, glory to God, his seed begging bread, hope, I have not seen the righteous forsaken, intelligence, Israel, Jesus, Joshua, Lucifer, magnanimous god, material things of the world, meditiate on God's word, opportunty, pillars of our faith, prolong his days, prosperous, righteousness., seek ye first the kingdom of God, Sermon on the Mount, stand in awe of God, strength, success, take no thought for your life, testimony, the breath of life, the Good Book, the Great Provider, the Holy One of Israel, the living God, the only true God, the wisdom of the age, then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, thou shalt have good success, wolf in sheep's clothing
Joshua 1:8b. …for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Oh Friends, it’s Thursday! Wow! Another terrific day in the history of civilization is on the way! Glory to God!
So please, let’s give thanks, be glad and rejoice in this day, because it is the wisdom of the age. It just had to be since the Holy One of Israel has a specially prepared fount of blessings on tap for us today. We just have to be obedient to His will and He will shower us with bountiful blessings, show us an awesome time.
And all God’s children declared a loud, proud and grateful ‘Glory Hallelujah! All praise and thanks and honour to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who sits upon His throne in the high heavens running things according to His wise and holy will!’
Yes my people, our God is indeed a great and magnanimous God! In fact, He is the ONLY TRUE God! And He’s also a LIVING God, which none of the other supposed gods are! It is His wonderful breath of life that courses through our bodies. That’s something we ought always to remember because it’s one of the foundation pillars of our faith.
Now here is an interesting quote on expecting success from Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993), the famous American minister, author and champion of the ‘Power of Positive Thinking.’
‘Hope is the great power that can move you to success. Why? Because when a man expects to win, he does not hold anything back, but gives his project all that he’s got. Most people fail not because they lack ability, intelligence or opportunity, but they fail because they don’t give it all they’ve got.’
And isn’t that the absolute truth! For when we expect success we put all that we have into it; time, energy and money. It’s the very dedication to our project and the determination to succeed that leads us to success!
So for all of us who have projects on the go, and that includes the living of this earthly life, let’s be dedicated and determined to succeed nuh, obviously with the help of Jesus. And how do we enlist the aid of Jesus? Simply by turning to Him, putting all out trust and faith in Him.
As the Lord told Joshua several times when He anointed him to lead Israel after the death of Moses. ‘Be strong and of a good courage… Only be thou strong and very courageous… Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.’ (Josh.1: 6, 7, 9)
So in the space of four verses, God warns Joshua three times to be strong and courageous and not afraid. Oh Friends, it’s the same thing that our great unchangeable God is saying to us today; ‘Be strong and of a good courage, and be not afraid.’ For we can’t do His bidding if we’re weak and fearful.
However my brethren, the clincher in the whole story is this verse, verse 8, from which our Bit comes. ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (shall be constantly in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’ (Josh.1:8)
Yeh Friends, you see the true and real way to be prosperous and have success: be strong and courageous, but even more importantly, meditate on the Lord’s Word day and night. It calls for manly strength and courage, as well as a strong and courageous faith centered in the Word of God. That is the ONLY way to have lasting prosperity and success!
Moses had already warned the Israelites re the choice of a king, and what His most important role was: ‘And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear (stand in awe of) the Lord his God; to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them.
That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren (become proud), and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days (continue long) in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.’ (Deut.17:18-20)
One simply cannot rule or live justly without the guidance of the Good Book!
And Jesus reiterated that command in the Sermon on the Mount when He told us in no uncertain terms. ‘Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for (do not worry about) your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat (food), and the body more than raiment (clothes)? … But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt.6:25, 33)
Oh my people, how many times must we be reminded that the ultimate in wisdom and common sense decrees that we place our trust in our heavenly Father if we want to be successful in this world eh?
But in spite of it all, we still listen to Lucifer, the ole deceitful wolf in sheep’s clothing and believe, or act on the premise that you have to concentrate on the things of the world and the way the world thinks and acts, to make it. That’s a total lie my brethren!
The necessary material things will be provided for us by God, the Great Provider, if we concentrate on seeking and doing His will. And we won’t have to be fearful and anxious about our needs because the Father knows we need those things to survive, and He has promised that HE WILL provide them if we are true and faithful to His Word.
And what better way to end than with this powerful testimony from Bruh David from Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked. ‘I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed (descendants) begging bread. He is ever merciful (merciful all the day), and lendeth, and his seed (descendants) is blessed. Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.’ (Ps.37:25-27)
Oh Friends, all I can do now is to implore us to follow the wonderful advice we have received from several ever-faithful and reliable sources, if we truly desire to be prosperous and successful in this world. Much LOVE!
…true strength and power and prosperity…in other words earthly success…comes only from Almighty God…through obedience to His Word and Will…
09 Jun 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a matter of faith, a true believer, almighty god, an easy row to hoe, and the body than raiment, anxious, automatic action, be careful for nothing, boring death, but seek ye first the kingdom of God, comfort, comprehend, discouragement, don't worry, exciting life, failure, faith, finite minds, glory, glory to God, God is still on the throne, God's plan, God's ways are higher than ours, gospel truth, Gramps Schuller, his goodness to the children of men, hope, Hour of Power Devotional, I will move, in everything by prayer and supplication, in you I come alive, inner mental stability, insecure, insecurity, irresponsibility, is not life more than food, jehovah god, Jehovah-Jireh, legitimate concerns, let your requests be made known unto God, level of faith, Lord I want your heart to be in my heart, loving kindness, material needs, material things of life, outward physical provisions, pardon, personal example, power, powerless, promises, providence, reassurance, reverence, rightousness, rudderless, Sermon on the Mount, shame, sin, sinfulness, spiritual blessings of God, strength, success, take no thought for your life, Thank You Lord, thanksgiving, the Holy Spirit, the Lord is at hand, the Lord our Provider, the spirit of a man, the straight and narrow path, trust, walk in worry, weakness, wisdom, worry free
Philippians 4:6. Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Aye Friends, welcome to another day in the unfolding of God’s great universe! It is unfolding as it should. We might not think it logical or understand it, but all we need to know is that God is still on the throne, and still in control of what He made. His thoughts and abilities are way higher than ours, so our small, finite minds won’t be able to comprehend all that’s going on.
Be not afraid though, for everything is working to plan; God’s plan that is. Just rest in the comfort and reassurance of His tender, forgiving and merciful embrace and allow the Holy Spirit that dwells within you to lead and guide you on the straight and narrow path that leads to our heavenly Father. End of sermon. (smile)
And now, on this wet and cloudy Tuesday morning in my area, here’s a simple but powerful prayer from Gramps Schuller’s (Robert H. Shuller) Hour of Power Devotional titled ‘I WILL MOVE…’ I don’t know if I’ve ever shared it before, because it doesn’t even look familiar to me. Hn! And I’ve been reading the book for several years now.
Anyway, 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, what true and wonderful sentiments! That’s just what I was saying earlier; putting your hope and trust in Almighty God is the only wise and sensible way to proceed in this mish-mash thing we call life. Without His involvement in our lives we are simply powerless and rudderless, aimlessly drifting on a tossing sea of sin and sinfulness, which augurs no good whatsoever to anybody.
But with Jehovah God in our lives, as Gramps Schuller so rightfully declares, we keep moving ahead in an exciting life, filled with hope, glory, strength and success!
And all God’s people said a loud and grateful: ‘Glory to God! Praise Him for His wonderful LOVING-kindness to the children of men!’ Yes Friends, that we certainly ought to do, for our God does deserve much reverence and thanksgiving!
And talking about reverence and thanksgiving, listen to our Bit, which details it marvellously for us. ‘Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.’
Without a doubt my brethren, the wise way is always to bring everything to God in prayer with much thanks for all that He’s done and still doing for us.
And the scholars offer this information on our Bit. ‘4:6. Be careful for nothing means “don’t worry about anything.” The Lord’s nearness (v.5b) (‘The Lord is at hand’) leads Paul to forbid his readers from worrying. This no summons to irresponsibility or an invitation to dismiss legitimate concern.
The solution to undue anxiety is prayer in everything, “in every matter of life.” The way to be free of anxiety is to be prayerful about everything. While God is eager to hear our requests, they are to be accompanied with thanksgiving.’
Ah Friends, unfortunately too many of us don’t put that advice in to action, therefore we are worried and anxious about all sorts of things. I guess it depends on the level of faith to which we have attained; meaning the greater our faith, the more we submit or adhere to the programme.
Consequently we need to build our faith so that going to God with EVERYTHING in prayer with thanksgiving becomes an automatic action in our lives. And I can tell you from personal example, it works my brethren, it truly works!
You might not always get the answer you want, or even deserve, but if you follow the leading of God’s Spirit that dwells within you, you will seldom go wrong. It won’t always be an easy row to hoe, but it will be definitely interesting and worthwhile.
And in support of our Bit, let’s look at some defining scriptures. First up is Jesus’ profound pronouncement from the Sermon on the Mount. ‘Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for (do not worry about) your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat (food), and the body than raiment (clothing)?’ (Matt.6:25)
And the scholars offer this splendid explanation of that verse. ‘6:25. Jesus now deals with the equally dangerous tendency of those who have few possessions: worry! Take no thought (Gr. me merimnao) means “Do not be anxious.” This word means to be so disturbed about material needs that we distrust God and are distracted from faithfully doing His will.
Anxious care is the direct opposite of faith. Therefore, even the poor are not to worry needlessly about what they should eat, drink, or wear. The question Is not life more than meat, and the body more than raiment? indicates that inner mental stability must come from the spirit of a man and not from outward physical provisions.
To set one’s heart on material possessions or to worry about the lack of them is to live in perpetual insecurity and to deprive oneself of the spiritual blessings of God.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my people. That’s why so many of us are so insecure. We place too much emphasis on the material things of life; worry too much about them, and work too hard to acquire them. We do need them, but listen to Jesus further on the issue.
‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt.6:33) And if you are a person of faith, a true believer in Christ, then you will understand that if you do the will of God, Jehovah Jireh, the Lord our Provider, will indeed provide for all our material wants and needs.
It’s all a matter of faith, my brethren. Believe and you will not worry, and will be amply provided for. Do not believe, then you will worry, be anxious and stress yourself out, and still not be sure of having all your needs met. And on that most important note, we’ll end today’s message.
Oh Friends, I implore us to have faith, or to raise the level of our faith, so that we won’t have the unnecessary worry and concern that comes with lack of faith. That is the wisdom of both heaven and earth. Much LOVE!
…why walk in worry…when one can walk worry free in faith…
26 May 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a healthy chance, a mirror image, a serious note, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land, arrogance, arrogant, ask for the old paths, backsliding, Beelzebub, blind leading the blind, break free, calmitous, catastrophic, Christians, commune with nature, crapaud smoke we pipe, dancing madly, deceit, destruction, dilgent, dream, drought, evil monster, flooding, friends, Friends in Christ, godless, harness our limited power, hot and humid, human errors, idolatry, in the throes of death, Jeremiah, Jesus, LOVE, Memorial Day, mind-blowing, my neck of the woods, my people which are called by my name, natural disasters, Oklahoma, our own counsel, path of destruction, persevering, pray, pride, promise, prosperity, proud, rampaging, raod to disadter, refuse to try somethig different, removing God from society, repent, rest for your souls, return to God, righteousness., seek my face, shall humble themselves, short mind spans, sincere, sinfulness, Southern California, stand ye in the ways, stranglehold, success, Texas, the annals of history, the awesome might of Jesus, the good way, the Love Revolution, the universe is unfolding as it should, the wages of sin is death, the way of the ungodly, the wisdom of a fool, then will I hear from heaven, tight grip, torrential rains, trying times, turn away from their wicked ways, walk therein, wickedness
2 Chronicles 7:14. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Oh my beautiful Friends in Christ, called by His holy name – Christians, welcome to another glorious day in the annals of history! (smile) The universe is unfolding as it should.
It’s going to be hot and humid today in my neck of the woods; something like 30 C. but the wind is not going to be rampaging like it was yesterday. Boy, was I ever sorry for those trees yesterday, for the wind had them dancing madly all day long, even into the night.
And hear this nuh; about 1:15 this morning I went outside to sit on my porch and commune some with nature, but less than ten minutes later, I had to come back in because the wind was strong and cool and I only had on shorts and a T-shirt. Hn, Hn!
But on a more serious note my brethren, what a way our world is disaster prone these days. It wasn’t a very happy Memorial Day for some of our Friends down in the Southern U.S. states, especially Texas and Oklahoma, where torrential rains caused immense flooding and damage. Meanwhile in poor Southern California, a long and fierce drought is doing serious damage of another kind.
Ah Lord eh! I don’t know what to say nuh my people, except that we should seriously consider applying the promise contained in the words of our Bit, for we obviously can’t stop the disasters that are occurring ever more often in these most difficult and trying times.
‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’
But yuh know what, mankind has become so proud and arrogant and godless nowadays that even though we see what’s happening, the calamitous natural disasters and catastrophic human errors, we refuse to try something different.
But as I keep reminding us, that is the wisdom of a fool! Even the Israelites, when they hit a bad spell after a season of idolatry, were smart enough to repent and return to God, and He did as promised; healed their land and returned it to prosperity.
But this foolish and wicked generation, even in the throes of death, refuses to even consider that option, much less adopt it. They’re still more intent than ever in removing God from our midst.
Chuh! Beelzebub certainly has us in grip, in fact in a tight, stranglehold my people! It’s a stranglehold from which we desperately need to break free, if we ever expect to return our countries, our world, from the path of total destruction on which we’re currently headed.
To accomplish that most worthwhile dream though, will take oodles of diligent, sincere and persevering work from us, the comparatively small band of people called by Christ’s name. But it is definitely possible when we harness our limited power to the awesome might of Jesus.
Oh my brethren, please, I implore us today, RIGHT NOW, to begin working seriously on the LOVE Revolution that’s necessary to save our world and give our children, our descendants, a healthy chance of success in the upcoming years.
For without that turn around to a godly world, Friends, we don’t stand a chance of success, as much chance of success as a snowball in hell! And that’s the living and factual reality of the situation, because our God doesn’t make idle promises, and He says that the wages of sin is certain death. So nuff said on that subject.
Now let’s continue looking at some scriptures which highlight the last of the four parts of our Bit that’s necessary for the Lord to hear our pleas, forgive our sin and heal our land, that’s ‘and turn away from their wicked ways.’
Oh my people, the wickedness of this current world is so rampant, widespread and incisive that it’s mind-blowing! I don’t think our world has ever been this wicked, and it’s been helped by all the advancements we’ve made in terms of modern living. More knowledge and power and greater material wealth have led to even greater sinfulness.
The Lord must certainly be shaking His head in disgust, thinking and sadly muttering, ‘what an evil monster I have created eh!’ Listen up to these scriptures Friends.
Jeremiah proclaims: ‘Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.’ (Jer.6:16) What pride and arrogance my people!
And the scholars have this to say about that verse. ‘6:16. The people’s stubborn refusal to walk in the traditional ways of true righteousness is often mentioned by Jeremiah (12:16; 18:15; 23:12; 31:21)
Moving in their own paths and following their own way could only lead to Judah’s destruction (cf. Prov.14:12). The contrast of the way of righteousness and life with the way of the ungodly and death is often made in the Scriptures (e.g.Ps.1; Matt.7:13-14).’
Oh Friends, that is exactly what we are doing today; walking in our paths, to the tune of our own counsel, so what can we expect but destruction eh?
Now hear Jeremiah again, as he mourns the desperate state of the Jews. ‘Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return? Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding?
They hold fast (to) deceit, and they refuse to return. I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? Everyone turned to his (own) course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.’ (Jer.8:4-6)
Oh my people, there again Jeremiah is painting a mirror image of our society today! How sad it is eh. Steups! But we’ll stop there for now. I was trying to get it all in today, but it would just be too too long, and I’m having respect for our short mind spans. (smile)
Anyway my people, please, please, let’s wake up and see the destructive actions that are taking place in our world nuh, which are carrying us steadily and ever quicker down the pathway to eventual destruction. For our children’s sake, let’s do something concrete and positive about it nuh, and quickly too, else crapaud will surely smoke we pipe! Much LOVE!
…there’s no surer road to disaster…than the blind and foolish…leading the blind and foolish…away from Jesus…
12 Mar 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a habitation of God, a holy temple, access by one spirit, alienated from God, all praise and glory to God, apostles, avid, behaviour, beliefs, bonding, Bruh Paul, chief cornerstone, children of the divine family, Christian Gentiles, Christian Jews, Christians, digest, disinterest in life, divine structure, Dr. Orison Swett Marden, dwelling place, Ephesians, failure, faithfully, family, feeling of malaise, fellow citizens, fit shape, fitly framed together, followers of Jesus, for other foundation can no man lay, foreigners, foundation, friends, Greek city-state, harmonious blending, harmoniously joined together, have life more abundantly, holding together, holy spirit, household of God, illness, in the Lord, inspirational, intimate realtionship, introspection, Jesus Christ, Jesus' philosophy, Jews, Lent, lifestyle, live obedient to God's will, Lucifer, negative pictures, Oriental architecture, Orison Swett Marden, physical pain, ponder, positive imagery, privileges, problems, prophets, read, reconciled to God, rest, review our convictions, saints, shadows, shall not be ashamed, sincerely, spiritual blessings, spiritual spring-cleaning, steal our joy In Jesus Christ, storms, strangers, success, sunshine, sunshine where others see shadows and storms, superstructure, the church, the hopeful man sees success where others see failure, the living truth, the Lord's wisdom., truth, understanding, unity, unity of all believers, walk with Jesus Christ, weaknesses, which is Christ Jesus, whosoever believeth on Jesus, wisdom, work diligently
1 Corinthians 3:11. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, it seems that a late night has begotten an even later morning. Hn, hn! You know I was up at around five a.m, even before the duchess’ alarm went off. And even if I don’t get up just then, I usually get up and see her safely off to work shortly after six.
But this morning I didn’t even know when she left the bedroom, much less the house. The Lord in His everlasting wisdom obviously realized that I was in no fit shape to write such a profound document as the Bit. (smile) And the ole body obviously needed more rest, so He allowed me to sleep in.
And I was quite surprised when I opened my eyes and saw that it was already eight o’clock. I haven’t gotten up at that hour here at home in ages. But who am I to query the Lord’s wisdom eh? (smile) And the body does feel much better for the unexpected rest. All praise and glory be to Him!
And in this third week of Lent, on this bright and balmy Thursday morning– the sun is shining beautiful and bright outside and it’s not too cold – I want to remind us that this is a season of introspection, where we sit down with God and review our convictions, beliefs, behaviour, and all the other things associated with our lives, which help us to live obedient to God’s will.
This is a time for a spiritual spring-cleaning, where we get rid of all the junk that’s cluttering up our lives and making it difficult, if not impossible to walk sincerely and faithfully with Jesus Christ.
And to help us do that here is this interesting and inspirational quote, which I believe I’ve already shared some time before, but is most worthy of sharing again, from Dr. Orison Swett Marden (1850–1924), an American inspirational author who wrote on success in life and how to achieve it.
Dr. Marden wisely declares: ‘The hopeful man sees success where others see failure, sunshine where others see shadows and storm.’
And isn’t that the living truth, my people! Ofttimes we get lost and caught up in our problems and weaknesses, physical pain and illness, whereby we end up with a general feeling of malaise and disinterest in life. But we can’t allow that state of affairs to exist for long my people, especially if we are followers of Jesus Christ.
We need to get back as quickly as possible to the positive imagery outlined in Jesus’ philosophy and lifestyle. He said He came so that we could have life, and have it even more abundantly. ( John 10:10) And being down in the dumps for too long a period is surely not having life, much less abundantly.
So my brethren, it’s in our best interest to try and get the negative pictures out of our lives almost as soon as they appear, because they are only the wiles and lies of the enemy coming to try and steal our joy in Jesus Christ. We can’t work diligently and sincerely for Jesus if there’s no joy in our souls.
That’s where our Bit comes in. ‘For other foundation can no man lay that that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.’
And I want to apologize for saying that yesterday was the last day for the Bit. Lucifer must certainly have gotten in to my mind, for there is till stuff concerning it, to say today. And we’ll kick it off with Bruh Paul writing to the Ephesians about the unity of all believers.
‘For through him (Jesus) we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
In whom all the building fitly framed together (being joined together) groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord; In whom ye also are builded (being built) for a habitation (dwelling place) of God through the Spirit.’ (Eph. 2:18-22)
Oh Friends, that scripture is so convoluted, and could be so confusing, that I would be greatly amiss if I didn’t give you some of the fine explanations of the scholars.
‘2:19-20. Now therefore draws a conclusion from verses 14-18: Christian Gentiles are no longer alienated from God, but now enjoy the same intimate relationship with Him and the same spiritual blessings as do Christian Jews.
Three figures express this unity and equality existing between believing Jews and Gentiles. (1) A city: This figure comes the Greek city-state political concept whereby all inhabitants of a particular city-state were fellow citizens enjoying the same privileges.
(2) A family: Since Gentiles have been reconciled to God (v.16) and to His people (v.15), they are now members of the household of God, that is, children of the divine family.
(3) A building: Believing Jews and Gentiles are part of the same divine structure, the church. The church’s foundation is composed of the apostles and prophets, its chief corner stone is Christ, and its superstructure is composed of Christians.
Oriental architecture placed greater importance on the cornerstone than on the foundation, for it connected the walls and concentrated the weight of the building on itself, thus bonding and holding together the whole structure.’
‘2:21. Paraphrased, this verse would read, “By whom the whole building, being carefully and harmoniously joined together, rises into a holy temple for the Lord.” Fitly framed together is translated above as “being carefully and harmoniously joined together.” This implies the harmonious blending of the Jewish and Gentile believers in the church.’
‘2:22. Ye also in Greek, is emphatic. It stresses that Christian Gentiles, as well as their Jewish counterparts, are part of the church. Christians are viewed as a habitation or dwelling place in whom God lives through His Holy Spirit.’
Ah mih people, I know that is a lot of explanation, but I believe we all need it, possibly some more than others, and I do hope that it clarifies any problems we have with understanding the relevant scripture.
Consequently, we’ll end there today, so that we can have time to read, ponder and digest all the wonderful information we’ve shared today. For that’s the only way we can truly become avid and true followers of Jesus Christ.
So my fellow believers, until tomorrow, the Lord willing, may we all walk hand in hand with Him, safely, wisely, LOVINGLY, and at peace with ourselves and all mankind! Much LOVE!
…for the scripture saith…whosoever believeth on Him…shall not be ashamed (put to shame)… (Rom.10:11)
Previous Older Entries Next Newer Entries
SCRIP-BITS 