The Importance of Christians Knowing Scriptures Associated with the Specifics of God’s Promises! Part 3.

24 Jan 2026 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 121:2.        My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

Here we are friends, on this lazy-day Saturday, betwixt and between bright sunshine and dark cloudiness. Let’s hope the sunshine wins the day. (smile) And as it’s still pretty cold, snowy and dangerous out there, if you don’t have to go out, then don’t. Just stay inside and enjoy the fruits of your labour with rest and friendly communion with God. And we’ll begin the latter half of that equation by offering up our ‘Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer.’  

As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

Now, if our hearts were sincere and true, then the Lord will flood them with peace and goodwill, for there’s nothing He LOVES more than His children seeking greater intimacy with Him. And having accomplished that, let’s turn to our unfinished business with the poem, ‘Promises and Non-Promises of God’ where we still have to check out scriptures dealing with the promises for ‘help from above, unfailing sympathy, and undying LOVE.’ 

So, let’s get right into scriptures dealing with ‘help from above.’ And as expected, God’s promises in any area are numerous, but we’ll begin with these most reassuring words from Psalm 121, titled, ‘God Neither Slumbers Nor Sleeps.’ Please read with me: ‘I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills (mountains), from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved (slip): he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 

Behold he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper (protector): the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve (keep) thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve (keep) thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth and for evermore.’ (Ps. 121:1-8) There you have it friends, a golden promise that help comes directly from the Creator, who shields us from danger both day and night. 

And we’ll highlight one more scripture on help from above, one that many of us know but don’t action in our everyday lives. The prophet Isaiah declares on the Lord’s behalf: ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee: yea, I will help thee: yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.’ (Is. 41:10) Now how much more assurance can the Lord give than that eh? None really. 

So let’s move on to ‘unfailing sympathy.’ And I like how this commentary explains it. ‘Scriptures regarding unfailing sympathy, compassion, and comfort emphasize God’s proximity to those in pain, the emotional connection of Jesus to human suffering, and the promise of ultimate relief from distress.’ But again, there are so many verses of promise to choose from that it just boggles the imagination.

Anyway, these most reassuring words from Bruh David in that magnificent Psalm 34, surely capture the idea of God’s sympathy and compassion for His children. ‘The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite (crushed) spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.’ (Ps. 34:19-19) 

Oh my people how much more sympathy can we ask for eh? Meanwhile, in Jeremiah’s Lamentations, he highlights the very essence of God’s sympathy, when remembering God’s faithfulness, he writes: ‘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.’ (Lam. 3:21-23) 

But here is one of the greatest promises of heavenly empathy, as the author of Hebrews declares to us. ‘Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into (through) the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession (confession of faith). For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched (sympathize) with the feeling of our infirmities (our weaknesses; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’ (Heb. 4:14-16) 

Ah my fellow believers, there’s nobody who can sympathize, empathize and show more compassion than Jesus, because He knows firsthand what we experience in this evil and ungodly world! And that finally brings us to the last of the promises; ‘undying LOVE.’  And I won’t even bother to tell you that there are oodles of scriptures that talk about that, because it’s the most important attribute of God, and why He made us in the first place. 

And possibly the greatest showing of God’s undying LOVE, is this verse from the lips of Jesus to Nicodemus the Jewish teacher. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16) Then there’s one of my favourite scriptures, from the pen of Bruh Paul to the Romans. ‘But God commendeth (demonstrated) his own LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8) 

Yes mih bredrin, God didn’t wait for us to change our ways, His LOVE was so great that He went ahead and did His part, trusting that we would eventually do ours. What greater LOVE can be shown eh, than breaking your own heart by giving up your only Son to save a bunch of ungrateful sinners and doing it before they were even fully aware of it? And just for good measure, or lagniappe, we’ll throw in these wonderful assurances of Bruh Paul to the Roman church. 

‘Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors, though him that LOVED us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the LOVE of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom. 8:37-39) That says it all my people! 

Now let’s close with what this commentary calls the ‘Core Themes of God’s Undying LOVE: (1) His Unchanging Character: God’s LOVE does not fluctuate based on human performance, but is rooted in His faithful character. (2) His Sacrificial Action: The ultimate proof of this LOVE is Jesus Christ laying down His life. (3) God’s Eternal Presence: His LOVE is described as “everlasting” and “never fails,” offering comfort through trials.’ 

And this cold, snowy, lazy-day Saturday is an excellent day to understand, appreciate and accept God’s great promises, so that we can have the good and abundant life that Christ promised and died for us to have! Much LOVE!

…only as we understand, accept and action the promises of God…will we fulfill our God-given destiny…

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

Today​’s Scrip-Bit 2 April 2019 Psalm 121:1-2.

02 Apr 2019 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 121:1-2.   ​I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills (mountains), from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
 

Oh hear the birds singing their sweets songs of gratitude for their daily bread; and admire the beautiful flora all dressed in red, orange, green and white as they exhibit their Creators masterful artistry; and listen to the gentle waves, at low tide, as they roll into the sleepy lagoon and lap against the rocky shore; and feel the cool, gentle breeze as it blows off the multi-hued sea and ruffles the leaves of the trees, causing them to dance a lively jig, under mostly blue skies with just a hint of cloud cover! 

Oh Eden, that first paradise, could not have been more beautiful… and if it was, then I wouldn’t have the words to justly describe it! 

Awright, awright, I know you all tired hear me describing the beautiful tropical scene I’m currently experiencing down here in paradise, aka, Tobago, but how can I ignore it eh? Yeh, I know it just raises up oodles of jealousy as you look out from your totally secured houses on to a scene of white snow and dry, stick like branches of the surrounding trees. (smile) 

But not to worry, your time will come, just like mine finally did, and then I will be the one trying my best not to feel envious of you as you loll on some distant exotic shore, admiring the beautiful scenery! (smile) 

Ah friends, I just can’t help it. On mornings, I get up and walk, in shorts and T-shirt, to the end of the patio, turn around and look at the sun coming up behind the house and thankfully declare, like the psalmist of old did: ‘I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills (mountains), from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.’ 

Yes my people, although I can’t see the mountains themselves, I know they are there and the sun is rising beautifully and powerfully up and over them because of the Lord’s grace, mercy, majesty and power, and I try to let it all seep into my spirit and make me strong! 

I don’t know if it worked yesterday though, because the duchess had me out in the hot afternoon sun, going to the beach, where the sand was so hot that it scorched my bare feet. However it was on my favourite beach, Store Bay, where the water was calm and a mind blowing aquamarine, and I enjoyed every moment I romped in the refreshing, regenerating and oh so therapeutic salt water! 

One unfortunate thing though, Store Bay now has a dangerous trench in the sand as you enter the water. You can’t see it, and unless you know of it, it can take you unawares and make you stumble, with possible bad repercussions. And getting out of the water, although you now know about it, you still encounter it unexpectedly. But once you get out into the less shallow parts of the water, Store Bay is still as wonderful as ever! And yes, I am biased and prejudiced, but I don’t care. (smile)

Chuh! I’m missing a gem of a quote to share with you all. After leaving the beach I turned into a gas station to top up my tank, and as I was going into the station to pay, it’s a pay before you pump place, I saw this wonderful daily quote on a board at the side of the door. I read it, but don’t ask me what it said now, because just as I got to the cashier she told me I had to move my car because the gas truck had just pulled in to fill up their tanks, and by the time I’d moved the car, I was then told that I had to wait until the gas truck was done with their job before I could do mine. 

Well being in no fit frame of mind to wait, I drove away without the gas, and thus never got the chance to see the sign and jot it down to share. But have no fear, I will be back down there soon, and this time I’ll make sure I get whatever quote is there. Promise! (smile) But then the duchess had me stop in the supermarket and walk around looking for stuff that we lacked and either needed, or thought we needed. So by the time we got home after five, the ole fella was tired like a dog, the duchess too, although she believes she is superwoman! (smile) 

When yuh hear we didn’t even put away the stuff we bought right away, like we’re accustomed doing, but just sat down in the cool of the patio and rested for a spell, you must know that we were well tired, what with the hot sun, the tiring sea, the hot sand and walking round the grocery! I guess we’re not as young and strong and accustomed to this weather as we used to be! (smile) 

And I was just bothering the duchess, as I am wont to, asking if she could handle the idyllic scenery on a long term basis…And she said: ‘Yes! Of course I can!’ So who knows what might happen in the future? But for the time been, I ‘ll just concentrate on my current situation, and believe like the psalmist did with his uncertainties on his pilgrimage journey. 

‘He will not suffer thy foot to be moved (slip): he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber not sleep. The Lord is thy keeper (protector): the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve (keep) thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve (keep) thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for ever-more.’ (Ps.121:2-8) 

Yeh friends, that’s for certain sure, since He promised it! Now let’s go home as we usually do on a Tuesday, declaring (right ho!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are! All together now in strong voice and sincere belief: ‘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!’ 

Now let’s action those words by going out and sharing Jesus’ LOVE and friendship as He so greatly desires of us! Much LOVE!

…the sun can’t smite you…if you don’t go out in it… wise advice I think we’ll take today… (smile)

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 5 May 2017 Psalm 127:1.

05 May 2017 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 127:1.   Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep (guards) the city, the watchman waketh (stays awake) but in vain.

And it was mid-afternoon…and the rains came… And then it was morning…and the rains are still coming… 

Yes friends, showers of blessings have been inundating us for the last 15 or 16 hours! And they are still coming down…thankfully not the pouring down kind, but more a steady drizzle. Hn! 

And as the Lord would have it, the ole fella has to go into Toronto for some tests today. Chuh! But I can’t afford to miss today’s appointment, because I postponed them over a month ago, on the day that our area had its last serious snowfall. 

And just to make life even more difficult, the two main exit ramps to the city off the southern highway have been broken down to build something supposedly new and better. It was bad enough before, but now you can imagine the horrendous traffic situation to get into downtown Toronto. 

And to add to the mix, the hospital I’m going to, have shut down at least a quarter of their underground parking spots for some repair work. The other day I had to drive around the area twice before I could find an empty spot. 

But yuh know what, the ole fella will just leave a little earlier, and with Jesus as my travelling companion, and fail-safe guide, we’ll just mosey into T.O as calmly as ever. With Jesus riding shotgun in my chariot, I know we’ll get there safely, on time, and everything will be all right! Praise His Holy Name! 

And along the way, we’ll certainly hear the workingman joyfully declaring: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! The weekend is ours to do as we please! And though it raining cats and dogs, that’s not going to stop us from partying hearty over the next couple of days! Yuh better believe we should all thank God for Fridays and the weekends!’ 

As usual, an interesting take on things, but not a very good one. Our Friday Chant makes a much wiser declaration, so let’s declare it now nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. 

Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ 

Now that makes much more sense, by giving us a modicum of circumspection and a level playing field to work with. And that brings us to today’s rather interesting and oh so appropriate Bit.

‘Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep (guards) the city, the watchman waketh (stays awake) but in vain.’  

And I daresay that there’s a lot of truth in that statement, judging by the serious expanse of, and concern with security in our society during the last two decades, but nonetheless the massive explosion of all kinds of fraud and treachery. Who’s guarding the guard eh? 

Ah mih people, I don’t know when we will wake up and fully and truly realize that only in godliness and righteousness will our society ever have some stability and safety. Only when the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is our true protector will our way of life be stable and strong. 

Now hear some scripture from Psalm 121 –God’s sustaining power, which tells it like it surely is. ‘I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills (mountains), from when cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved (slip): he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 

Behold he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper (protector): the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. 

The Lord shall preserve (keep) thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.’ (Ps.121:1-8) 

Yes my brethren, that’s what the Lord does for those who are obedient to his law and live faithfully and righteously in His name! 

As our Bit says, without Him working on our behalf, all our efforts are in vain. And until we sincerely realize that and repent and return to faithfully serving Almighty God as a just and true society, our lives will continue to be in everlasting turmoil. 

Ah mih people, like the psalmist, when he looked up at his mountains and wondered where his help to fight them would come from, so can we look at the mountains in our lives, and confidently declare: ‘My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.’ 

And that’s indisputable, gospel truth my brethren! So let’s stand strong and steadfast on it nuh, as wisdom and faith in God dictates. Much LOVE!

…to whom shall we cry out for help…not Ghostbusters…but to the Lord God Almighty…