07 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a toehold, abundance, abundant in goodness and truth, another occasion to party, as far as the east, be careful as we celebrate, Beelzebub, blesings, chide, do t all over again next week, drunk or sober, endures for night, everything's coming up roses, exodus, fatness, feel sicker in the night, fellowship, forgiving iniquity, Friday chant, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, God is alway on the job, Granny's advice, hardship, His anger endures but a moment, his favour, I will rejoice, in Jesus' name, in the shadow of thy wings, is life, joy comes in the morning, keep his anger forever, keeping mercy for thousands, long-suffering, meditate on thee, merciful and gracious, Moses, party, please mind your business, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, sin, slow to anger, strive, suffering, Ten Commandments, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, thanksgiving weekend, The executes righteousness, the Lord God, the thirsting soul, tow short days off, transgressions, truth, unique, weeping
Psalm 30:5. For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy (a shout of joy) cometh in the morning.
‘Oh what a beautiful morning! Oh what a beautiful day! Everything’s coming up roses! Everything’s going my way!’
Oh my people, I don’t know if those are the right words to that li’l ditty, but they surely are my sentiments this Friday morning; the Friday of our Thanksgiving weekend.
So you can imagine the jumping and shouting of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! It’s the weekend….and a long one to boot! Party time, oh party time! We going to party down the place this Thanksgiving weekend! Thank God for Fridays and weekends yes!’
Ah Lord eh! When we going to learn that we can’t just party away the weekend eh? Our activities must have some semblance of balance if we want to use it wisely. So let’s chant our Friday Chant, which gives us a better perspective on how to use the weekend.
Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes friends, that’s a much better way to use the weekend, rather than abuse and ruin it by simply partying it all away. And please, this long Thanksgiving weekend, in Canada, don’t forget Granny’s wonderful advice: ‘Sonny boy, drunk or sober, please mind yuh business.’
For it’s at times like these we tend to give Beelzebub a toehold in our lives. And we definitely don’t want do that. So please, let’s all be careful as we celebrate and give thanks to the Lord for His many blessings this weekend.
Now let’s turn to our Bit, which does bring a fresh breath of thanksgiving to our mornings. ‘For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy (a shout of joy) cometh in the morning.’
Yes precious people , so often the nighttime brings severe and excruciating hardship and suffering, but in the bright light of day, things usually don’t seem so bad. Have you ever noticed too, that most of the time we get sick at night, and something about the night doesn’t seem to go well with sickness.
We always tend to feel sicker in the night than in the day. But whatever the reason (s), we need to know that Almighty God is always on the job! He’s always there looking after us, whether He’s annoyed with us or not.
Now let’s check out some other scriptures that corroborate our Bit. First up is a scripture from Exodus, where the Lord gave Moses the second set of tablets containing the Ten Commandments.
‘And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him (Moses) there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.
Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgressions and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.’ (Ex.34:5-7)
Now that was the Lord speaking of Himself to Moses. So when we speak those words, we’re speaking words of awesome truth. Listen as Bruh David reiterates them.
‘The Lord executeth righteousness and judgement for all that are oppressed. He made known his way unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous (abounding) in mercy (LOVING- kindness).
He will not always chide (strive): neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewardeth us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy (LOVING-kindness) toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.’ (Ps.103:6-12)
Now what can we ask that’s better than that eh friends? Absolutely nothing! Our great God considers each one of us as a unique specimen and treats us all in a unique manner. Now let’s end with some more words from Bruh David from Psalm 63 – The Lord satisfies the thirsting soul.
‘Because thy LOVING-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee, Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow (the best) and fatness (abundance); and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips. When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.’ (Ps.63:3-8)
Oh my people, there’s no better place of comfort, rest, safety and security than in the shadow of God’s wings. Please, let’s try our best today to get a comfortable spot under those mighty wings, for that’s the epitome of wisdom. Much LOVE!
…let’s give plenty thanks this thanksgiving weekend…for we do have a lot to be thankful for…
29 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a glorious deliverer, a marathon race, a positive outlook on life, a strong will, abide by Jesus' word, abundance, agonizing, blessings, broken in the name of Jesus, come to pass, courage, creativity, crucified, curse, dangers, dead in our sins, despising the shame, direction, disbelief, divine necessity, divine protection, endured the cross, eternity, family, favour, finisher, fools, foretold, forgiven, friends, fulfillment, future, glory, glory hallelujah, God's LOVE, good and faithful servant, Hades, health, heaven, History, identity, impediments, in innocence, iniquity, Jesus, joy, leader, look to Jesus, looking unto Jesus, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, Lucifer, Messiah, mindbending, Moses, negative word, New Testament, obedience, of our faith, Old Testament, open the eyes, originator, our heavenly Father, passe, perfector, promotion, prophets, prosper, radiance, reconciled to the Father, Resurrection day, scriptures, self-control, self-discipline, selfless sacrifice, set down at God's right hand, shame, significance of Jesus, sins of the world, slow of heart, succeed, success, successful living, suffering, supernatural strength, talent, thanks and praise, the author, the Father's will, the road to Emmaus, the SON, the true path, Thursday Blessings, trailblazer, transgressions, ungrateful people, welcome
Hebrews 12:2. Looking unto Jesus the author (originator) and finisher (perfector) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of God.
Well friends, it’s a cloudy morning in my area. The sun is not shining, but thankfully the Son is holding forth as usual in all His wonderful radiance and brilliant glory!
All thanks and praise be to our heavenly Father for giving us Jesus as our Messiah, Leader, Lord and Saviour! Without Him, we’d be certainly dead in our sins, heading for a rough and troubled eternity with Lucifer in Hades.
But thanks to God’s great LOVE and Jesus’ selfless sacrifice, we have been reconciled to the Father and as His beloved children, can now look forward to spending eternity with Him in heaven. Glory Hallelujah!
And on that glorious note, let’s declare out Thursday Blessings, as we remember that a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone. With true belief, sincerity and enthusiasm now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life!
I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection!
I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Glory to God my people! We shall be blessed when we go out and come in, when we sit or lie down… in fact in all aspects of our lives our God will cause us to prosper. Wow! Isn’t that something else? It surely is!
That’s why we have to pay serious attention to our Bit. ‘Looking unto Jesus the author (originator) and finisher (perfector) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’
Yes friends, Jesus was the original trailblazer of our faith. He first ran the race and set all the standards for it. Now we need to adhere to those standards so that we can run the race successfully too. It’s not an easy race to run, for it’s a marathon across hill and dale, rivers and streams, one fraught with all sorts of dangers and impediments.
But thankfully Jesus has blazed the trail, shown us the way, lit the path, and if we sincerely abide by His word, then we too will have success, and one day hear the Father declare: ‘Welcome, thou good and faithful servant!’
Oh what a joyful day that will be my people! But first we have to get serious about looking to Jesus and following in His famous footsteps, otherwise we’re just wasting our time and His.
Now let’s look at a couple of interesting parts of our Bit, the first being, ‘who for the joy that was set before him…’
Now I really don’t see the joy in what Jesus was asked to do by the Father nuh – take the sins of the world on His shoulders, be crucified in innocence to pay for the iniquity and transgressions of ungrateful people.
It was joyful for us, because through His actions our sins were forgiven, but it must surely have been mind-bending and agonizing for Him. However, despite the affliction, His obedience to the Father’s will was perfect.
That brings us to Jesus’ words to the two disciples He met on Resurrection Day along the road to Emmaus. He chided them for their disbelief.
‘Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.’ (Luke 24:25-27)
Oh friends, the Lord didn’t send the prophets because He had nothing better to do, but to open the eyes of the people unto the coming of Jesus and what His purpose was going to be.
Hear the scholars. ’24:26. Ought (Gr. dei) bespeaks a divine necessity; what the prophets had foretold (see Is.53; Ps.16; 22) must and did come to pass. The disciples had been ready to see in Jesus a glorious deliverer, but Jesus’ rebuke (v.25) relates to their unwillingness to take seriously the many Old Testament texts that speak not only of the Messiah’s glory, but also of His suffering.’
And unfortunately, today a lot of us are also refusing to understand the importance of the Old Testament in the formation of the New Testament. But the scholars kindly inform us: ‘24:27. The entire Old Testament is indispensable for a grounded grasp of the identity and significance of Jesus.’
That is friends, if we don’t understand Jesus’ role and significance in the Old Testament; His appearances, His status, His doings and the prophesies about Him, we won’t be fully able to comprehend His form and function in the New Testament.
Therefore, please, let’s stop considering the Old Testament as passé, because it isn’t. It’s just as important as the New Testament in that it expounds the nature of our faith; it’s beginnings, its ups and downs, its promises, and above all the great message about our Messiah.
So today, as Almighty God blesses us, and as we bless others, let’s remember where we came from – the Old Testament – because if we don’t know our history and recognize it as being important, we surely won’t know our future; where we’re going, the direction in which we’re headed and how to handle it. Much LOVE!
…only as we look to Jesus…will we see the true path to successful living…
11 Aug 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook, abundance, blessing, boredom, break asunder, breakdown of communication, breath, broken right now, brutal, clear direction, communicate, courage, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, creativity, critical attitudes, curse, didn't care, didn't understand, different human beings, divine protection, divorce, earthly tenure, embarrassed in public, engagement, fairy tale, family, favour, friends, fulfillment, gives life, God is in control, grin and bear it, happily ever after, harmony, harsh, He said, health, his eyelids test, his eyes behold, ignorantly worship, imprisoned, in the name of Jesus, in the northern climes, inadequacy, infiltration, live for Christ, lonely, Lord of heaven and earth, made with hands, marriage, negative word, no backbone, no belly, pray for relief, preoccupied, problems, promotion, push-away, Rehoboam, reminiscent of life, Ruth Harms Calkin, self-control, self-discipline, self-pity, selfish, She said, splitsville, stifled her dreams, strong will, success, suffering, summer, supernatural strength, talent, temples, the children of men, the Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the unknown God, three-ring circus, throne, Thursday's Blessings, tragic, unappreciated, wallowed, wedding, what god has joined together, wisdom
Psalm 11:4. The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try (test), the children of men.
Well friends, another scorcher is set for today! It’s truly summer in the northern climes. And still no signs of heavenly blessings. But what to do eh? Not much, but grin and bear it, try to stay cool and pray for some relief ASAP. (smile) Anyway, life goes on as it should because our great God is still in control.
Now here is a poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, that I just had to share because it’s so reflective and reminiscent of life in these sad and troubled times. It’s called ‘He Said – She Said.’
And it goes like this. ‘Another marriage is shattered, Lord. The divorce will be final next week. He said it was the breakdown of communication And the subtle infiltration of boredom.
She said it was an accumulation of things. He said she was unnecessarily preoccupied With home and children and activities.
She said he stifled her dreams And ignored her achievements. He said he felt imprisoned, restricted – That night after night he got the old push-away.
She said he was harsh and brutal And he often embarrassed her in public. He said her critical attitudes Contributed to his sense of inadequacy.
She said she felt lonely and unappreciated With no claim to personal identity. He said she wallowed in self-pity And refused to acknowledge her benefits. She said he was thriftless and irresponsible.
He said she didn’t understand. She said he didn’t care. Lord, how tragic. Through all the wearisome years Neither of them asked what YOU said.’
Ah friends, indeed how tragic is such a scene! But unfortunately it’s being played out numerous times in our current society that has no backbone or belly and can’t seem to communicate properly, although we are in an age of exceptional communication devices and means.
And we all know that marriages have problems because they include selfish and different human beings, but too often the petty statements like those above are used to dissolve, to break asunder what God has joined together. Marriage is supposed to be holy and sanctified, but that certainly doesn’t seem to be the case nowadays.
People seem to rush into marriage nowadays without thinking properly about it, and thus as soon as the first headache appears, everybody is ready to call it splitsville. To a certain extent I blame our society which embraces the fairy tale of getting married and living happily ever after.
That’s all we teach our children, but they have no idea of the reality that marriage is a three-ring circus; the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and then the suffering. (smile) Now that might be putting it too harshly, but the fairy tale of endless harmony is also too unreal.
Ah friends, unless the Lord is present within a marriage it won’t be successful. That’s why the biblical promise for that poem is a reflection of king Rehoboam’s life. ‘And he did evil because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord (it was not his basic purpose).’ (2 Chr.12:14)
However, we won’t get into the problems of marriage, because everyone will have their own take on it. So since it’s Thursday, let’s get positive and declare our Thursday Blessings so that we can get alive and truly live for Christ, for remember a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken.
All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Oh my people, what a wonderful, awesome, mighty and LOVING God we serve and worship! No other faith can do what we’ve just done; declare positive blessings over our lives and sincerely expect them to come true.
And all of that is made possible partly because of our Bit. ‘The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try (test), the children of men.’
You better had believe that my brethren, else crapaud smoke yuh pipe, you’re out of luck, you’ll be left behind!
And to end the writing on this Bit, let’s quickly look at a couple of scriptures that corroborate it. First up is the declaration of Stephen when he was on trial. ‘Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool:
What house will ye build me? Saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?’ (Acts 8: 48-50) There Stephen puts together Isaiah’s saying (Is.66:1,2), Jesus’ words, (Matt.5:34), and those of the psalmist (Ps.102:25)
And finally, the words of Bruh Paul in Athens on Mars Hill talking to the Athenians about the altar with the inscription ‘To the Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship (worship without knowing); him declare I unto you.
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth life, and breath, and all things.’ (Acts 17:23-25)
Yes friends, the Lord doesn’t need anything from us, but we need everything from Him. Please, let’s remember that as we go about His business today and everyday. Much LOVE!
…unless a man’s eyes and heart are turned toward Almighty God…his earthly tenure will not be successful…
10 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abuse, action, ask in prayer, ask of God, at the last day, attitude that makes sense, barren, be thou removed, being obedient to His word, belief, believe only, believing in jesus, Bethany, carry the day, cast into the sea, caterwauling, celebrate, circumstances, cleanse our sinful souls, complain, complaints, crucified, cry, dead, died to save us all, doubt not, eternal life, faith, fear not, fig tree, followers of Christ, forgiveness, gifts, God's plan for us, grace, hang nail, hung and suffered there, Jairus, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the ONLY ONE, joyful, Lazarus, let us rejoice and be glad in it, live, LOVE, love Him too, LOVE in action, loved, Martha, mercy, method to God's madness, our Lord and Saviour, pain, pains he had to bear, pampered people, pay the price of sin, planet earth God's marvellous creation, praise, reconcile us to the Father, redeeming blood, sacrifice, salvation, selflessly, she shall be made whole, sinless, suffering, synagogue ruler, talk a good talk, thanks, the beginning of time, the glory of God, the resurrection, There is a green hill far away, this is the day the Lord has made, trials, tribulations, trust, truth, try his works to do., unlock the gate of heav'n, walk, withered away
Luke 8:50. But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.
Ah friends, once more we have been blessed with another wonderful day on God’s marvellous creation called planet earth! And believe me, there’s method to God’s madness for allowing us to see another day. It means we still have things to do in the great plan that He’s mapped out for us since the beginning of time.
So let’s be joyful and declare as the psalmist did: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24) Yes my fellow believers, under the circumstances, it’s the only attitude that makes sense.
And furthermore, since the psalmist wrote those words, we have even more reason to celebrate because our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ died to cleanse our sinful souls, reconcile us to the Father and offer us the magnificent gifts of salvation and eternal life by simply believing in Him and being obedient to His Word! Wow! What a Saviour!
And this summer Sunday morning I’d like us to sing an old hymn, a favourite of mine in my youth, which tells of Jesus’ great sacrifice on our behalf. It’s called, ‘There is a green hill far away.’
Please sing loudly and lustily with me. ‘There is a green hill far away, Without a city wall, Where the dear Lord was crucified, Who died to save us all. We may not know, we cannot tell, What pains he had to bear, But we believe it was for us He hung and suffered there.
There was no other good enough To pay the price of sin. He only could unlock the gate Of heav’n and let us in. Oh, dearly, dearly has he LOVED! And we must LOVE him too, And trust in his redeeming blood, And try his works to do.’
Oh precious people, it is so good to offer up praise and thanks to our God after what He’s done for us. Just look at it nuh; Jesus was the ONLY one who could unlock heaven’s’ gate so that we might enter because He was sinless! And he did it so selflessly, enduring the horrendous pain without any complaints!
Meanwhile, we soft, pampered people today, cry and complain so much if we have even a li’l hang nail. (smile) I don’t think many, if any of us, could have borne even one tenth of Jesus’ suffering without going crazy from the abuse and the pain.
However, thankfully, we’re not called on to do that, but we are called on to bear some trials and tribulations in this earthly life, which we should try to do without too much caterwauling and complaining. And the formula for doing that is given at the end of the hymn above. ‘LOVE Jesus, trust in His redeeming blood and diligently try to do His work.’
It’s all right there in a nutshell friends, just waiting for us to put it into action. And that’s exactly where we as supposed followers of Christ fall down. We talk a good talk, but can’t match it with our walk. And that’s not right, because the only way others will want to come to Jesus is by seeing His grace and truth, mercy, forgiveness and LOVE in action in our lives.
And it’s high time we start doing better, if we want to carry the day for Jesus. But we need to first believe that it’s possible and then that we have the necessary parts to do it.
Listen to Jesus’ admonition to Jairus the synagogue ruler when he heard that his daughter had died. ‘But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.’
Yes friends, the starting point for everything is BELIEF! If you don’t believe, generally speaking, it won’t happen. Now let’s look at a couple of other instances where Jesus invoked belief.
Let’s begin with His early morning journey from Bethany to Jerusalem. He was hungry and approached a fig tree expecting to find figs because it was fig season. However the tree was barren of all fruit. Jesus then declared to the fig tree: ‘Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.’ (Matt.21:19)
Obviously the disciples were amazed at the fig tree’s sudden demise. ‘Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’ (Matt.21:21-22)
And friends, please note that the important word in that last sentence is ‘BELIEVING!’ If you don’t believe, all your prayers are useless.
Now let’s turn to our final example, that time when Jesus heard that His friend Lazarus was deathly ill, but He stayed where He was for another two days before returning to Bethany. By then Lazarus had died and his sister Martha met Jesus on the way and criticized Him.
‘Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead (may die), yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.’ (John 11:21-27)
Ah friends, Martha surely believed, but she did not understand Jesus’ intention to raise her brother in the current time. Thus when they took Him to Lazarus’ tomb and He ordered them to roll away the stone from the mouth, ‘Martha saith unto him, Lord by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? (John 11:39-40)
And we all know that after Jesus spoke to His Father, for the people’s sake, He ordered Lazarus to come out and he came out, alive and well and many of those who saw Jesus’ work, believed.
I ask us now friends, do we believe that strongly so that we can see the glory of God? For all of our sakes, I sincerely hope so. Much LOVE!
…without belief…not much is possible…
19 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a godly turnaround, a taste for, abuse of authority, admonition, anger, asaph, ban' our jaw, bring them up, child support, children, clothing, commandments, complexities of life, cruelty, difficult times, discipline, discouraged, divorced, education, Father's Day, financial support, food, formative years, fulfilling our mandate, guiding light, have a good time, he will not depart from it, hope, injustice, instruction, knowledge of Jesus, look after, loss of temper, LOVE, love for the Lord, mandate, moulding a child's life, necessities of life, nurture, parental training, parents, provide for, provider, provoke not your children, rebellion, responsibility, ridicule, sarcasm, see eye to eye, set their hope in god, shelter, shirk, single mothers, sole parent, spiritual education, spiritual head, sufferation, suffering, suppression, the biblical pattern, the chief teacher, the ideal setting, the palate, the things of God, titular head, train up a child, training, trials, tribulations, undue severity, unfortunate things, with the Lord's help, wrath
Ephesians 6:4. And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture (training) and admonition of the Lord.
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY !
Aye mih fellow fathers, welcome to another Father’s Day! I hope it is a pleasant and happy one for all of us, but knowing the complexities of life, undoubtedly some of us will not enjoy the day. For one reason or another, things will not go the way we want them to, but like so many other unfortunate things in this life, we will just have to ban’ our jaw and accept them.
Anyway fathers, a lot of what is happening in these sad, trying and difficult times is either directly or indirectly our fault. We have to do a much better job than we’re currently doing.
There are too many fine women and children out there bearing our genes, who are suffering real ‘sufferation’ because of our foolish, casual, doh care, irresponsible attitudes and behaviour. We are certainly not fulfilling our mandate to provide for and look after the many children we sire.
Tell me nuh, how do you think the women and children that we’ve used and abused will get the necessities of life eh – food, shelter, clothing and the knowledge of Jesus Christ, if we don’t help them to do so eh?
Now there are many good and excellent fathers in the world, but on the other hand, there are way too many bad ones, who are out to simply have a good time and consequently shirk their responsibility that proceeds from that good time. Remember friends that the father is the titular, the spiritual head of the household and as such he is responsible for setting godly parameters and living up to them by his example.
That’s why our Bit so staunchly declares: ‘And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture (training) and admonition of the Lord.’
Yes friends, the father is supposed to be the guiding light of the household! But if he isn’t around, or around and not doing his duty, then the rest of the family suffers. We have way too many single mothers, whether divorced or never married who are having to raise children by themselves, both as sole parent and provider when there is a father available to help.
Now listen to how the scholars break down our Bit. ‘6:4. Fathers can provoke their children to wrath by injustice, loss of temper, undue severity, cruelty, favouritism, suppression, sarcasm, ridicule, and misuse or abuse of authority. Nurture basically means “training,” here denoting spiritual education.
Admonition is instruction that points out one’s responsibilities and duties. Of the Lord is in Greek a subjective genitive. This indicates that behind the parents’ rearing and instruction of their children stands the Lord as the chief teacher in child education. Parents do not raise children alone.’
So you see my people, the great demands placed on a father. It’s not an easy job, but with the Lord’s help we can accomplish it. I haven’t been the best father at times, and haven’t always led by example, but my children never wanted for the basic necessities of life, and I tried to instill in them LOVE for the Lord and a sense of responsibility.
The problem though today, is that sense of responsibility is fading from the entire world, which includes fathers. Now I was raised by a single mother, who worked two jobs from the time I was old enough to know what was happening, so I know the trials and tribulations of those situations. However, although my father and I didn’t see eye to eye, he at least helped with some financial support.
Many fathers today who can afford it don’t even do that small part of their duty, and the poor women have to take them to court for child support, and even then they don’t pay it. But when the child or children happen to turn out good and successful, they are the first ones to talk and boast about ‘my children!’
Steups! When left to them alone, the children would be eating ‘wind pie and nothing chops.’ Friends, I’ve seen it happen too often, and it sickens me.
Now here is a li’l something from Cousin Sol re the situation. ‘Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.’ (Prov.22:6)
And the scholars give us some good info here. ’22:6. Train up a child refers to the total process of moulding a child’s life. The word ‘train’ (chanak) comes from the root word meaning to “put into the mouth” and implies the idea of conditioning the palate. Thus parental training should help children develop a taste for the things of God. The biblical pattern of effective parental training emphasizes a balance of instruction and discipline (cf. Eph.6:1-4).
The ideal parent is to be neither overly authoritarian nor overly permissive. Rather, he must balance LOVE and discipline so as not to “provoke” his child to rebellion. When he is old means simply, “when he is grown up,” or a mature adult. It does not refer to his elderly years. The verse stresses the simple principle that education in the home forms the man throughout his lifetime.’
And isn’t that the living truth my people! The home is where our formative years are spent, and there is where we learn the things that make us who we basically are.
And we’ll close with these words from Psalm 78, where the psalmist Asaph is reminding Israel of God’s goodness. ‘For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:
That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born, who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.’ (Ps.78:5-7)
Unfortunately fathers, we have not done that very well, consequently our children are not setting their hope in God, but rather in the things of the world, and are totally lost where the commandments are concerned.
However, where there is life, there is always hope; hope in God. So today on this Sunday, the Lord’s Day, as well as Father’s Day, let’s try an improve the situation nuh, possibly by going to church with our children, that would be the ideal setting for the much needed godly turnaround. Much LOVE!
…fathers…provoke not your children to anger…lest they be discouraged… (Col.3:21)
18 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a smooth ride through life, a way to escape, able to bear it, all things work together for good, appreciation, attitude, basic goal, be of good cheer, belief, blessed, boost our faith, called according to His purpose, calling, Christ-like, Christians, circumstances, common to man, deceitful, disservice, doting parents, dross, earthly goals, endure, evil times, faith, fires of refinement, followers of Christ, God is faithful, godless, gospel truth, he that endureth to the end, I shall come forth as gold, Job, LOVE, overcome the world, patience, perseverance, promise of victory, puts us through our paces, refining fires, righteous, sappy, sin, soft, spiritually strong, storms of life, struggle, struggling, suffering, temptation, test, the divine perspective, the human perspective, though he saly me, to them that love God, trials, tribulations, unquenchable, victory, yet will I trust him
Romans 8:28. And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.
Well a blessed day to all you my Scrip-Bit family and friends! And I know that some of us will be quick to say what’s so blessed about it eh? Just look at my circumstances, look at how I’m suffering and struggling. I certainly wouldn’t call that blessed.
I understand that friends, but it’s all in our attitude toward those circumstances and struggles. Too many Christians expect to just have a nice smooth ride through life without any problems simply because they are followers of Christ. But it doesn’t work like that. Unfortunately, the greater our calling from God, ofttimes the greater the struggle in our lives.
Look at all the great prophets, Bruh Joseph, Moses, Bruh David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Bruh Paul, and finally Jesus Christ Himself; they all went through many trials and much tribulation to accomplish their earthly goals. Jesus even warned us: ‘In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33b)
And furthermore, the Lord uses these trials and struggles to test us, to build and grow our faith; to see if we truly believe and are willing to rely on Him and His promises. As Job, another righteous man who suffered great tribulation declared during his time of trial. ‘But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.’ (Job 23:10)
And the scholars have an interesting take on that verse. ’23:10. I shall come forth as gold: His friends maintained that Job was full of dross, but Job is confident that no dross, or sin, would be revealed in the fires of refinement.’
Yes friends, the Lord puts us through our paces like we put metals through fire to purify them. And believe me, when you go through some of those refining fires, you will come out as bright and beautiful and strong and faithful as gold!
And we don’t even have to go to the Good Book to learn about struggles; listen to these quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us. He says first: ‘Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.’ And the corollary to that is; ‘Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.’
Gospel truth all of that my fellow believers! That’s why so many of this young generation are so soft and sappy and whiny, because they have had most everything given to them by us doting parents. They never had to struggle or work hard for something, so therefore there is no real appreciation of anything they have or get.
In their minds the world owes them a living. And that’s a big disservice we’ve done to them. No wonder most of them have no belly or backbone, and are quick to throw in the towel as soon as hard times show up.
Oh my people, everybody goes through struggles and hard times, whether you’re rich, poor, black, white, Muslim, Jew, or whatever, but where we believers win out over the others is that we have the rich and faithful promises of our God to depend on.
We know for instance that as Bruh Paul told the Corinthians in his first letter: ‘There hath no temptation taken (overtaken) you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able to bear, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.’ (1 Cor.10:13)
Yes my struggling and suffering fellow believers, our God promises never to give or allow us to bear more than we can handle and will either make a way out for us, or give us the wherewithal to endure it. He doesn’t always make us escape it, but more often than not He brings us safely through it. Another way to boost our faith and make us spiritually strong, more Christ-like, which is the basic goal for all believers.
That brings us to our Bit, another crucial promise from our ever-faithful God. In the momentous words of Bruh Paul: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’
Oh my brethren, what a wonderful promise! Only we Christians are assured that our omnipotent, ever-LOVING God will work out everything in our favour eventually, according to His timetable! It’s all a matter of faith, of belief, of patience and perseverance my people!
And this is what the scholars have to say about that verse. ‘8:28. To them that LOVE God is the human perspective. God is working all things together for good, but those who LOVE God are best able to appreciate that fact because they LOVE Him no matter what (cf. Job 13:15) To them who are called is the divine perspective. Scripture often refers to believers as “the called” or “the elect.”
And for those of us who want to know what Job 13:15 says but are too lazy to look it up, let me spoon feed you. (smile) Job defends his integrity before his condescending and self-righteous friends by declaring of God: ‘Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine (defend my) own ways before him. He also shall be my salvation: for a hypocrite shall not come before him.’ (Job 13:15-16) Just thought I’d throw in verse 16 for good measure. (smile)
And the scholars say of ’13:15. Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him expresses the unquenchable faith of one who lives by faith, not by sight. Even when it appears that God Himself has turned against Job, he will still trust in God.’
Oh friends, oh friends, in these godless, deceitful and evil times, that is the kind of faith we believers need to have, an unquenchable kind, if we’re going to see it through to a victorious end!
And we’ll conclude with these fateful words of Jesus: ‘And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.’ (Matt.10:22) Much LOVE!
…Christians have to understand that struggles are a part of human life…but we have the certain promise of victory in the end…to see us through life’s storms in the middle…
05 Apr 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a Prophet, a righteous man, a servant, brothers and sisters with Christ, Christian, done it to one of the least, eternal separation from God, evil and ungodly world, feed the hungry, friend, glory to God, goats, Helper, honour god, hungry, I am the beloved of god, I can trust my Friends Jesus, I'm not what I do, I'm not what I have, I'm not what people say about me, in prison, insignificant, mercy, naked, oppresses the poor, orphans, promises, put a smile in our hearts, receives me, receives you, reward, salvation, save the lost, share His love with the world, share in the labour, sheep., sick, smallest service, stranger, suffering, the children of men, the king shall answer, the left hand of christ, the lost, the needy, the way to salvation, thirsty, Tuesday Mantra, widows, you have done it unto me
Matthew 25:40. And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Ah friends, thankfully the mess and muck of yesterday’s precipitation should have been mostly cleared away from the roads, so the trip to work this morning shouldn’t be that bad. But it’s cold, beastly cold, so please dress warmly, possibly your long johns (smile).
Then let’s put a smile in our hearts which shows up on our faces and our conduct as we face the evil and godless world and evoke the gospel of Christ, and hopefully bring others to the truthful realization that He ONLY, is the way to salvation.
And since today is Tuesday, it’s only mete and right that we declare our Tuesday Mantra. So as one now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen’
Oh yeah, my brethren! We are indeed not what we do or what people say about us, but the beloved children of God! Glory Hallelujah. Once we believe in Jesus and surrender our lives to Him, we are immediately adopted into God’s fold and become joint heirs of the kingdom with Christ.
What a bam bam! Joint heirs of the kingdom of God with Christ… Mama yo! Nothing could be better than that my people! So please let’s stop allowing the world to define us and have us foolishly running around like chickens with our heads cut off to live up to its standards.
Remember we are working for our FRIEND Jesus to share His LOVE with a sinful world! That’s what defines us. Now I want to share something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s titled ‘Walking Together.’
And it says: ‘It would be sheer mockery, Lord It would be subtle hypocrisy For me to kneel Anguished and weeping Before Your cross Unless – As I walk with You now Down my personal Emmaus Road I introduce You With singing joy To the broken and bound The weary and worn The depressed and defeated Whom we meet on the way. And, Lord, I observe That as we walk together Foot traffic thickens.’
Oh friends, what glorious truth! As we walk together with Christ along our earthly path, and we meet the broken and needy and share the good news of Christ’s gospel with them, as well as any material help we can offer, we are indeed joined by others in our journey and Christ is indeed more glorified.
Remember Christ said that He came to save the lost, to feed the hungry, to heal the sick and broken, and take care of the stranger, the widows and orphans. So it is necessary that we too, as brothers and sisters with Christ, look after the lost and needy.
That’s why in our Bit, and also the Bible promise for the poem above Jesus declared: ‘And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.’
Yes my fellow believers, it’s all about how we react to those who are suffering in this ungodly and evil world! If we spread Christ’s message and His material benefits amongst them, then we’ll be set on His right hand with the sheep… Oh glory to God for His goodness to the children of men!
But if we spurn and/or ignore the lost and needy, regardless of all our other so-called good deeds, we’ll end up on Christ’s left hand with the goats… How sad! Because hear what He’ll say to that group. ‘Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was an hungered (hungry), and ye gave me no meat (food): I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.’ (Matt.25:41-43)
Brother! We certainly don’t want to be in that lot my precious people, because as we keep saying, eternal separation from Almighty God is the worst thing that can happen to a human soul.
And Jesus spelled it out earlier on in Matthew when talking about rewards. ‘He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.’ (Matt.10:40-42) What glorious promises my brethren!
And the scholars have this to say about those verses. ’10:41-42. In the name of a prophet (i.e., “as a prophet”). The meaning of this statement is that those who are not prophets themselves may share in the labour and reward of the prophets by willingly supporting their ministry. One of these little ones is a reference to the fact that even the smallest service done to the most insignificant of Christ’s servants shall be rewarded by the Lord Himself.’
Oh friends, yuh see that living and working for Jesus is not rocket science, but simply letting the goodness of our hearts flow to others, especially those in need!
And we’ll end with these wise words of Cousin Sol from Proverbs. ‘He that oppresseth the poor (needy) reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor (needy).’ (Prov.14:31.’
Yes my people, when we honour the needy, we honour our God and Maker. So please let’s go out and do that with a sincere heart today nuh, and thus help our cause in Jesus’ eyes. That’s nothing but the wisdom of the ages! Much LOVE!
…being a Christian means…being a servant…a helper…a friend to the poor and needy…
26 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brighter day, arrest, betrayal, by His precious blood we are saved, by His stripes we are healed, Calvary, circumstantial evidence, condemn him to death, cross, denied Jesus, desire, disappointment, dreams, Easter Sunday, fearful sheep, for unto you it is given, fuelled their hearts, Gentiles, get down and dirty, glorifying, Good Friday, guidance, guilt, in behalf of Christ, interloper, Jerusalem, Jesus, Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, John, Joseph of Arimathea, Judas, lies, LOVE, magnifying, meaning, miracles, mock, mock trial, Nicodemus, objective, Palm Sunday, Passover, persecution, Peter, philosophy, purpose, remorse, salvation, scattered to the four winds, scourge, sermons, serving, shepherd, suffering, the disciple Jesus loved, the Son of man, threat, to believe on him, to die is gain, to live is Christ, to suffer for his sake, total disaaray, trials, tribulations, troublemaker, wine and rose
Philippians 1:29. For unto you it is given in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.
Well friends, all the Good Friday hoopla is finally over. The feast of the Passover is in progress. The Romans and the ruling Jewish class are happy that Jesus the interloper, troublemaker and very possible threat to their power and political status is dead. They are exhaling a big sigh of relief and resting satisfied in the culmination of their most heinous and criminal act; causing Jesus to be crucified on lies and circumstantial evidence.
Thanks to Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, His lifeless body is now lying in a new tomb sealed by a big rock, with soldiers guarding it, so that there is no chance of any mischief from His rag tag band of followers.
Meanwhile, in reality, that group of followers have fled hither, thither and yon, fearful for their own lives, because of their association with Jesus. Sincere disappointment also clouds their spirits, because they had had such high hopes for and in their leader. All His great sermons and miracles and wonderful philosophy had fuelled their hearts and minds with dreams of a much better and brighter day.
But now, in the blink of an eye, after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem some six days earlier, (Palm Sunday) everything had suddenly been turned topsy-turvy by His sudden betrayal, arrest, mock trial and death on that wooden cross at Calvary. I guess, like any of us mired in a similarly difficult situation, they were wondering what would become of their lives, since they had given up everything to follow Jesus.
Judas, His betrayer, has gone and hung himself, remorse and guilt having gotten the better of him. Then Peter, who had denied knowing Jesus three times, was tearing out his hair, wondering how he could have done something that stupid and cowardly. Mary, Jesus’ mother, per His dying directive, had gone to live with John, the disciple whom He LOVED. And the once solid band of believers was now in total disarray.
It had all happened so suddenly that they had all been taken by surprise, although Jesus had tried to warn them of His impending troubles. As they were going up to Jerusalem, to celebrate the Feast of the Passover, Jesus had tried to tell them what was about to happen.
‘Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles (Roman rulers): and they shall mock him, and shall scourge (flog) him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.’ (Mark 10:33-34)
But obviously none of them were paying serious attention to His words. Even the night of the Last Supper, when He informed them that one of the group would betray Him, they still didn’t take it seriously, although they all wondered and asked if it was them. But now things had come to up bump; the Master was dead, and they were like lost, fearful sheep scattered to the four winds, without the LOVE and guidance of their shepherd.
Yes friends, that was the general state of affairs in Jerusalem, come Saturday morning. I guess it taught that first band of believers a serious lesson; namely that being associated with Jesus could be a dangerous endeavour, entailing suffering and persecution.
I sincerely hope it has also taught us that too, some two thousand years later, as our Bit details. ‘For unto you it is given in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.’
It’s not all wine and roses my people, we ofttimes have to get down and dirty and also suffer some on Jesus behalf. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great life, and I wouldn’t trade it for any other, but like life itself, there are problems and difficulties to encounter, bear and overcome, obviously with Jesus’ help.
As Bruh Paul declares earlier in the chapter: ‘For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.’ (Phil.1:21)
And the scholars tell us: ‘1:21. For explains why Paul is just as happy to magnify the Lord by death as by life (v.20). It is because to him, to live is Christ. He means that living consists of serving and glorifying the Son of God; apart from this, his life has neither meaning nor purpose.
But why is Paul just as content to magnify Christ by death? Because to him to die is gain; that is even though living and serving God are good, death is a graduation to something better: it is a promotion to the heavenly presence of Christ and perfect fellowship with Him.’
Now friends, all of that is perfectly true, but like most of you, I don’t think I’m ready for that heavenly promotion just yet. I still have a lot of serving and magnifying and glorifying to do down here on earth. (smile)
But seriously though my people, like Bruh Paul, our main objective, whether down here on earth, or in heaven on high should be to seriously magnify Christ. That ought to be our basic desire; whatever we do or say should have God’s glorification as its number ONE objective.
Yuh see all the really rough times Bruh Paul went through fearlessly for Christ’s sake! And Christ brought him safely through them all! Now most of us won’t have to go through anything like that, but we will meet opposition and even persecution, if we become and behave like serious followers of Christ.
Now that is the number ONE question: how many of us are willing to go through trials and tribulation in Christ’s service?
And what better day to ponder and consider that question my people, than on the Saturday between Good Friday, when Christ sacrificed His life on the cross, and Easter Sunday, when He rose triumphantly from the grave?
Please, let’s all do that today nuh. And hopefully we’ll all come up with the same resounding answer: ‘Yes! We will go to the grave magnifying our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! After what He’s done for us, we can do nothing less!’
Now let’s go out and put that promise into action this Easter Saturday nuh, before we have time to think about it and change our minds. (smile) Much LOVE!
…by His stripes we are healed…by His precious blood shed on the cross we are saved…thank You Jesus for salvation…
22 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a believer in Christ, a paying job, a roof over your head, abundant life, adversaries, alive, anxious, assurance, be exceeding glad, behaviour, bounden duty, break the chain, but also to suffer for his sake, Christ is Lord indeed, Christ's gospel, Christian, circumstances, conduct, difficulties, divinely granted, doubtful, every foe is vanquished, fear, fearful, food on your table, free gift, glory hallelujah, glory to God, God's beloved children, gospel truth, heaven, I am the beloved of god, I can trust my friend Jesus, I don't have to hurry, I don't have to worry, I'm not what I do, I'm not what I have, in behalf of Christ, interesting events, intimidation, living for Jesus, living the good life, lost condition, LOVE, majority of the world, not only to believe on him, oneness of mind, persecution, Philippians, privilege, rejoice, revile, revitalize your spirit, reward, rise above, salvation, selfish behaviour, selfishness, Sermon on the Mount, share His love with the world, stand up for Jesus, standing up strong, steadfastness, suffering, take God out of our society, terrified, the great invitation, the Lamb that was slain, the trumpet call obey, token of destruction, troubles, troubles of the world, truly believe, Tuesday Mantra, unity, unto you it is given, walking with Jesus, with Jesus' help, working for Jesus
Philippians 1:29. For unto you it is given in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.
And then it was Tuesday…wonderful Tuesday!
And amidst all your difficulties and troubles you ask, what’s so wonderful about it eh?
Well for one thing you’re alive. That’s more than can be said for a lot of people. Most likely you also have a roof over your head, food on your table and a paying job. Well that means you’re better off than the majority of the world of some 7 billion souls.
And for another you’re a Christian, a believer in the One and Only Son of God, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Wow! That alone makes it a wonderful day friends, because working for Jesus is always filled with unexpected and interesting events!
And since it’s Tuesday, before I forget, (smile) let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra with true sincerity and much enthusiasm nuh.
As one now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my brethren? It certainly is! We’re not defined by what the dark and sinful world says about us, because we know that we are the beloved of God, and that no one can deny or take away from us. Oh glory to God my fellow believers!
The problem though is that we don’t seem to take our designation as God’s beloved children seriously enough, we’re still anxious, doubtful and fearful, and thus continue letting the world’s unwise and often untrue and foolish systems define us. It’s time to break that oh so restrictive chain my people!
And the only way to do that is by sincerely and faithfully taking hold of what our wonderful God has said about us, and the magnificent things He’s done and continues to do for us each and every day.
In other words friends, we need to truly believe! Without true belief and faith, we’re lost, caught up in the worries and troubles of the world and our circumstances. But when we’re truly walking with, and living for Jesus, we don’t let our circumstances overwhelm us; we rise above them, of course with Jesus’ help.
As I keep reminding us, being a true and faithful believer is no easy or simple matter, but it is certainly doable and enjoyable if we rest all our burdens and fears on His strong and healthy shoulders, as He tells us in His Great Invitation, Matthew 11:28-30. Please look it up if you don’t know it…and even if you do know it, please read it again so it can revitalize your spirit.
And yesterday we saw how Bruh Paul exhorted the Philippians to steadfastness in Christ’s gospel, through proper conduct and behaviour in unity and oneness of mind. ‘And in nothing (no way) terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token (proof) of perdition (destruction), but to you of salvation.’ (Phil.1:28)
And I repeated that verse because I want to share an explanation from the scholars. ‘1:28. One of the ways in which the readers’ proper conduct benefits the gospel (v.27) is mentioned here: not being terrified by their adversaries. The lack of intimidation is a twofold sign: (1) to unbelievers it is evidence of their lost condition; (2) to believers it is an assurance of their salvation.’
And that my brethren is one of the problems with present day Christians; we are terrified by our adversaries, plus have adopted the selfish behaviour of the current world; everything being, ‘I, me and mine, first person singular.’ If we weren’t, we’d be standing up strong and facing them and not allowing them to take God out of our society as they are so blatantly doing.
Oh my people, Jesus died that we could have a good and abundant life, and we definitely can’t live that kind of life if we’re afraid and/or selfish. That brings us to the next verse in Bruh Paul’s exhortation, our Bit. ‘For unto you it is given in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.’
Yes friends, we have the obvious privilege of not only living the good life through Christ, but also suffering with Him. It’s a two-pronged situation, though in our selfishness and fear we expect it to be simply all good times.
When Jesus came to die for us, He didn’t have only good times, but also plenty rough ones, especially His crucifixion, which we’ll celebrate in a few days. So why should we have it all good eh?
And the scholars provide an interesting explanation on that passage. ‘1:29. For reinforces the assertion that the proof of the believers’ salvation, provided through their courage in persecution, comes from God.
This justification lies in the fact of the Philippians being divinely granted the dual privilege of believing in Christ and suffering for Him. Thus the assurance of their salvation is from God, just as is their suffering for Jesus, for the latter was the occasion providing the former.’
Yes my fellow believers, our salvation was provided by Jesus’ suffering, let’s never forget that, and therefore let it help us to stand up strong in His name and do His will, regardless of the tough circumstances we occasionally face, for salvation is greater than anything the world can do to, or offer us!
And all God’s children gratefully and joyfully declared: ‘Glory Hallelujah! All power and glory be to the Lamb that was slain for us!’
And we’ll end with these immortal and most appropriate words of Jesus from the greatest sermon ever preached; the best laid out philosophy of life ever promulgated, the Sermon on the Mount.
‘Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which went before you.’ (Matt.5:11-12)
Yes my brethren, persecution will follow us simply because we believe in Jesus, that’s a fact we cannot ignore or deny since it happened to so many prophets, including Jesus, meaning we’re in excellent company.
But by the same token, when we stand up strong during the persecution we’re blessed and are storing up rewards in heaven. No, it’s definitely not easy, but the only way to overcome it is by keeping our focus on the rewards in heaven, rather than the persecution here on earth.
So friends, though it might be somewhat on the rough and tough side, let’s go out and put that into practice today nuh, so that our lives can be more blessed, and Jesus’ message of, and free gift of salvation can be more widely spread abroad and accepted, for that’s our bounden duty. Much LOVE!
…stand up, stand up for Jesus…the trumpet call obey…till every foe is vanquished…and Christ is Lord indeed…
P.S. Unfortunately, late nights breed late mornings. (smile) Much LOVE!
19 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a day in the life, actions speak louder than words, all things work together for good, almighty god, baptizing them, blessed, called according to God's purpose, caring, Christians, come to save that which was lost, common to man, compassion, corruption, Creator, deprivation, depths of our hearts and souls, do good, downtrodden, forget not, give ear, glory hallelujah, God is faithful, God's justice, God's people, greed, hard work, hear, homeless, hope thou in God, hungry, I am with you always, in the name of the Father, live for Jesus, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, make disciples of all nations, my salvation, o ye kings, o ye princes, observe all things I commanded you, provider, revere, sacrifice of praise, selfishness, share, sick and suffering, sing praise to the Lord, sing praise to thy name, stand up and be counted, strangers, suffering, temptation, the church, the fruit of our lips, the god of Abraham, the health of my countenance, the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, the SON, the things of the world, thou Most High, to them that love God, unbelievers, ungodliness, unto the end of the world, widows and orphans, wine and roses, worship
Judges 5:3. Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes: I, even I, will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.
One more day in the life friends, one more day in the life! And what a blessed day it always is when you are being led by the Holy Spirit of Almighty God, as we Christians are supposed to be!
Our Divine Creator and Provider always has His eyes on us; on each and every one of those who sincerely worship and revere Him. Not one single hair from our head falls out without His knowledge. That’s how closely He monitors our well-being.
And the joyful shout of ‘Glory Hallelujah! Blessed is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who sincerely cares for us and faithfully fills all of our needs!’ echoes across the land from the mouths of God’s people.
Oh friends, how wonderful that sentiment would be if it came from the mouths of many of the current unbelievers. And that’s our job; to show the unbeliever how wonderful it is to work and live for Jesus; not only by our words, but even more importantly by our actions. Remember actions speak louder than words.
Unfortunately though, the actions of too many supposed Christians don’t jive with their words, or the lifestyle espoused by Jesus in His earthly sojourn, and expected of His disciples down through the ages.
Where is the unconditional LOVE, the compassion, the caring for those less fortunate, for the homeless and hungry, the widows and orphans, the strangers, the downtrodden, the sick and suffering, the lost that Jesus came to save. As He said: ‘For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.’ (Matt.18:11)
So my people, why are so many of our brothers and sisters suffering such want and deprivation when there is such abundance eh? It obviously means that we, first as individual believers, and the church, as the earthly body or organization of Christ are not fulfilling our Christian mandate. That doesn’t speak very highly of us my fellow believers.
Oh my brethren, it’s in these times of full-scale greed, selfishness, corruption, ungodliness, widespread poverty and suffering that Christ’s church and the people involved need to stand up and be counted. Jesus is depending on us to successfully carry out His LOVE Revolution, and we obviously can’t do that from the comfort and ease of our living rooms.
Friends, we need to get up and get going; place Jesus sincerely in the depths of our hearts and souls, so that we go can out and proselytize, evangelize, and do whatever it takes to bring Christ to those who don’t know Him.
Remember His last instructions to the disciples. ‘Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway(s), even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
Friends, those disciples did their thing and brought a whole lot of believers to Jesus. It’s now our turn, but we’re not doing so well because we’re afraid of what the world will say, and also too taken up with the things of the world. Remember friends, following Jesus is not all wine and roses, in fact it entails plenty hard work and a fair amount of suffering, but it is all worth it in the end.
As Bruh Paul says: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to His purpose.’ (Rom.8:28) Yes my people, there’s nothing to fear, the Lord will work everything out for our good eventually. And remember too that Jesus said He would always be with us, right to the very end, so we’ll never be alone. Jesus will always be alongside us.
And then we have this wonderful scripture: ‘There hath no temptation taken (overtaken, befallen) you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that yea are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.’ (1 Cor.10:13)
So my people, we have all the tools and the protection to go out and do the work that Jesus has called us to do. Let’s develop some belly and backbone and go and do it nuh; stop being fearful, stop making excuses and stop allowing the lusts of the flesh to hold us back from performing our bounden duty; the Great Commission. And that’s my spiel for the day. (smile)
Now let’s turn to our Bit about giving our great God the praise and glory He so rightfully deserves. ‘Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes: I, even I, will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.’ Yes my people, that is what we were created to do!
But sadly in this modern age and supposedly progressive times, we have forgotten about God and are foolishly putting our trust in man and the destructible things of the world. And we’ll continue looking at some scriptures of praise, hoping they will make a serious impact on us.
Let’s begin with the confession of the priests and Levites after Ezra read the law to the Israelites and they repented and fasted. ‘Stand up and bless the Lord your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.’ (Neh.9:5b) That’s the awesome truth friends! Now listen to Bruh David from Psalm 9 –Praise for God’s justice. ‘I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth (tell of) all thy marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou Most High.’ (Ps.9:1-2)
Yes my brethren, that how we’re supposed to operate as true believers. And even when times are rough, we can say: ‘Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance (my salvation) and my God.’ (Ps.42:11)
And we’ll close with these well-known verses from Hebrews. ‘By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate (share) forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.’ (Heb.13:15-16)
Ah friends, I can only encourage us to do better and pray that the Holy Spirit will work in all our hearts, minds, souls and bodies to the bettering of Christ’s kingdom here on earth. Much LOVE!
…when thanks and praise flow from our hearts…God opens the windows of heaven and pours down His wonderful blessings on us…
Previous Older Entries Next Newer Entries
SCRIP-BITS 