19 Mar 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a good attitude, a just man falleth seven times and riseth up again, a tough nut to crack, abundance, adversity, as generously as the Lord shared them with us, ascend up into heaven, at thy right hand, become intimate with God, behold thou art there, broken right now in the name of Jesus, Christian maturity, christianity, clear direction for my life, come to know and love christ like we do, commit thy way unto the Lord, constantly be on the lookout, courage, creativity, curse, divine protection, duty bound, dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, experience with adversity, faith, favour, feed on his faithfulness, foundational truth, good health, he shall bring it to pass, he shall direct thy paths, holy spirit, I will give thee rest, in all thy ways acknowledge him, in thy presence is fullness of joy, Jane Williams, Jesus Christ, lean not unto thine own understanding, like a thief in the night, LOVE, make my bed in hell, Mellitus College, mercy, my presence shall go with thee, negative words, never escape the presence of God, omni-present, poverty wages, Prayer Through The, promotion, salvation, self-control, shew me the paths of life, so shall thou dwell in the land, take heed, take the wings of the morning, talent, teach me to wait with patience, the BIBLE, the penultimate day of our work week, the problem of trust, the unknown future, there are pleasures for ever more, thou art there, thou shalt be fed, thy right hand shall hold me, to go out and share those blessings, to know your presence, to prepare a place for me, to trust that you are with me, trust also in him, trust comes with experience, trust in the Lord and do good, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, truth, waiting with faith, walking by faith and not by sight, watch and pray, watch with alertness, we need to feel God's presence, whither shall I flee from thy presence, whither shall I go from thy spirit, wisdom
Proverbs 3:5. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
And then we come to Thursday, the penultimate day of our work week. Wow! The week’s almost over! But please remember what Jesus said, don’t look forward too much to tomorrow, Friday, for Friday will present its own problems, (Matt. 6:34) let’s concentrate mostly on handling today’s challenges. (smile) Now, since God so generously spared our lives to see another day on His wonderful though currently chaotic planet earth, let’s keep our promise to continue looking at the prayer credited to Jane Williams, a professor at St. Mellitus College in London, England, founded in 2007, whose mission is to provide innovative theological education and training for those called to serve Christ in the church and the world.
The prayer is found in the 2025 publication of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto, titled ‘Prayers Through The Ages.’ And it’s short and sweet enough for us to pray it again. (smile) So please pray with me: ‘Christ, you have gone before me to prepare a place for me, that where you are there I may be also. Teach me to wait with patience, to watch with alertness, to trust that you are with me in the unknown future and to know your presence.’ What wonderful sentiments! And yesterday we looked at Jesus’ promise to go and prepare a place for us and then come back to take us with Him, (John 14:1-3) a foundational truth of our faith, as well as the request for God to teach us to wait with patience.
Now that waiting with patience is a tough nut to crack, because it only comes through lots of experience; waiting with faith and a good attitude despite the adversity we all go through. Likewise the other request from the prayer: ‘teach me to watch with alertness.’ That only comes through faith and experience. As we saw a few day ago, where Jesus warns us to ‘Take heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.’ (Mark 13:33)
Yes, we know that Jesus is coming back, but we don’t know when, and it could be anytime, like a thief in the night. That means we have to constantly be on the lookout and also be ready. For if He comes back and we’re not ready, then it’s hell fire and damnation for us. That’s why these words of His are so important. ‘And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.’ (Mark 13:37) And we cannot overestimate how important it is to watch and be ready for whenever Jesus returns.
Then there’s the problem of trust, which means walking by faith and not sight. (2 Cor. 5:7) Putting all our trust in Jesus is again not easy, and only comes with experience. The longer we live with Jesus, the more we see His absolute faithfulness and learn to trust Him. And again there are numerous scriptures that detail that requirement. And here are a couple of the most prominent verses. The first ones come from Cousin Sol in Proverbs. ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make straight or smooth) thy paths.’ (Prov. 3:5-6)
Then there’s this from Bruh David from Psalm 37. ‘Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on His faithfulness). Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.’ (Ps. 37:3-5)
And finally the prayer talks about knowing God’s presence. That’s another aspect that only comes with experience. But knowing and feeling God’s presence around us is of major importance, as it especially brings us comfort and lack of fear. And there are many scriptures that talk about the importance of feeling God’s presence in our daily lives. And I guess the first one ought to be Moses’ plea to God for grace and knowledge of Him, (Ex.33:13) while leading the Israelites to the Promised Land. ‘And he (God) said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.’ (Ex. 33;14)
Now that gave Moses the encouragement he needed, because he knew if the Lord wasn’t present with them, they would see lots of trouble. Then in Psalm 16, Bruh David encourages us with this titillating verse on the subject. He writes: ‘Thou wilt shew me the paths of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for ever more.’ (Ps. 16:11) Yes friends, when we’re in the presence of God, our spirits are light and fanciful and there’s such joy that we cannot contain it.
And I believe Bruh David says it best in the remarkable Psalm 139 ‘Praise to the All-Knowing God.’ There, he expounds thus on God’s presence: ‘Whither shall (can) I go from thy spirit? or whither shall (can) I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea: Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.’ (Ps. 139: 7-10)
Oh my people, that just goes to show that we can never escape the presence of God; for he’s Omi-present Wherever we go, He’s always around. And every time I read that scripture I’m reminded of the first time I heard it acted out so marvellously by Dr. Robert Schuller on the Hour of Power T.V. programme. The problem though with God’s presence is for us to feel it. He’s always there, but unless we feel it, it does us no good. And to do that we have to become very intimate with God, through prayer, His Word and the Holy Spirit that dwells within us to lead, guide and comfort us.
Unfortunately friends, the whole Christian thing, growing in spiritual maturity, takes time and experience; going through adversity and failure, but not giving up because your faith and trust is strong. And every time you go through something negative; your faith gets stronger. As Cousin Sol says: ‘For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again…’ (Prov. 24:16a) That’s the only way to grow!
Now, let’s declare our Thursday Blessings, undeserved ones, so generously bestowed on us by God to do His earthly work. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 every day! Amen!’
And having made that declaration, we’re now duty bound to go out and use those blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…growing in Christian maturity…only comes through… sincere trust and faith in God…and experience with adversity…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
17 Mar 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a global conflict, a nuclear blast, a plague, a wake up call to get right with God, all of them shall grow old like a garment, are you ready for Jesus' return, as a vesture shalt thou change them, atomic bombs, but of that day and hour knoweth no man, cause for us to sit up and pay attention, Christ's church come together, christianity, Christians, come as a thief in the night, come to know and love christ like we do, effects of radiation, faith, Greg Laurie, he find you sleeping, heaven and earth shall pass away, Hiroshima, holy spirit, hurry, in god's eyes, Jesus Christ, let the world know to whom we belong, lift up your eyes to the heavens, lock stock and barrel, look upon the earth beneath, LOVE, mankind invents and perfects methods of destruction, mercy, my righteousness shall not be abolished, my salvation shall be for ever, my words shall not pass away, Nagasaki, nuclear weapons, of old thou hast laid the foundations of the earth, salvation, share His love with my neighbours, share the amazing love and friendship of Christ, stay spiritually awake, suddenly coming, take heed, take the bull by the horns, the antichrist, the beloved of God, the BIBLE, the day of the Lord, the earth also, the earth shall wax old like a garment, the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the end times, the flesh eyes and tongues of people rot, the heavens are the work of thy hands, the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, the rapture of the church, the second coming of Jesus, the Tribulation, the war of Gog and Magog, the works that are therein shall be burned up, they shall be changed, they shall perish but thou shalt endure, they that dwell therein shall die in like manner, thou art the same, thy years shall have no end, trust my friend Jesus, truth, Tuesday Mantra, turn things around in Christ's favour, watch, watch and pray, watch ye therefore, weapons of mass destruction, what I say unto you I say unto all, wisdom, World War II, worry, ye know not when the time is
Mark 13:37. And what I say unto you I say unto all. Watch.
Well friends, with God’s help, we’ve successfully made it through Monday, so there’s no reason why we should not make it through this windy and chilly but fairly sunny Tuesday too! And, believe it or not, we’re already past the halfway mark of this March month, meaning that time and things are speeding up, so we also have to get a move on if we don’t want to be left behind. It’s therefore essential that Christ’s people, His church, come together, take the bull by the horns and begin turning things around in His favour, otherwise the devil and his evil cronies will just destroy everything that’s good and godly in our world.
We’ve already seen how we are foolishly leading up to another big war, which might just prove to be the last one, and the evil doers are in no hurry to change the situation, so it’s left up to the people of Christ to intervene and stop the foolishness, If not, then we might just see the promise of Peter’s words coming through, for the next big war will indeed be a doozy with nuclear weapons of mass destruction. ‘But the day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.’ (2 Pet. 3:10)
And that’s exactly what’s going to eventually happen if mankind doesn’t restrain his warlike tendencies. And if we think the atomic bombs that decimated the Japanese Cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War 2 were bad, please think again, because the weapons we now have are several times stronger and more destructive. But that’s what mankind does so well, invent and perfect methods and weapons of destruction. What’s taken centuries to build, we can now destroy and eliminate in the blink of an eye. Most of our efforts are concentrated on destruction rather than construction.
And we have the same sort of warning about serious destruction from the prophet Isaiah when he talks about the ‘Nearness of God’s Righteousness.’ He writes: ‘Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax (grow) old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished (broken).’ (Is. 51:6)
Yes friends, there are several more references in the Bible to the earth being destroyed, like this one from Psalm 102. The author states: ‘Of old hast thou laid the foundations of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure (continue): yea, all of them shall wax (grow) old like a garment; as a vesture (cloak) shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed (descendants) shall be established before thee.’ (Ps. 102: 25-28)
Then this commentary tells us, there are other scriptures like ‘Zechariah 14:12 which describes a plague where the flesh, eyes, and tongues of people rot while they stand on their feet, which some interpret as the effects of radiation or a nuclear blast. Revelation 8:7-10: Mentions a third of the earth, trees, and grass burning up, and a great mountain burning with fire falling into the sea, often interpreted as nuclear missiles and fallout. Ezekiel 38-39: Describes the war of Gog and Magog, involving massive armies, fire, and brimstone, which some commentators suggest could be a global conflict in the end times.’
The problem though is however we explain or understand it, the earth and all therein will at some time be destroyed either by man’s hands or divine design, thus we should be prepared for whatever comes. And I like how Pastor Greg Laurie puts it in his article on the current problems in the Middle East, found on the harvest.org/resources website. He writes: ‘I believe what has taken place in the Middle East is cause for us to sit up and pay attention. Let me give you just a quick flyover of end times events chronologically. Number one, I think the next event on the prophetic calendar is the Rapture of the Church. Then, the Antichrist emerges on the scene and the Tribulation period begins.
The Tribulation ends with the Second Coming of Christ, and then the Lord establishes the Millennium (the 1,000-year reign of Christ). Events like the ones we are seeing now shouldn’t cause us to panic and be fearful, but move us to prayer. Pray for the nations involved. Pray for peace. And pray that many come to Christ. Bible prophecy is not given to scare us, but to prepare us. Are You Ready? Ask yourself today, “Am I ready for the Lord’s return?” Christ is coming again. This is a wake-up call to get right with God, walk closely with Him, and stay spiritually awake. Let’s all make sure we’re ready to meet the Lord—because, well, He could come back at any time.’
And that was Jesus’ exact warning: ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter (doorkeeper) to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even (evening), or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning. Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all. Watch.’ (Mark 13:31-37)
And whatever Jesus says, is what we ought to do! So please my fellow believers, let’s sit up and take notice nuh. It’s all for our benefit. Now let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
Now, it behooves us to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…regardless of our many problems…Christians ought to be ready for Christ’s return…at any time…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
17 Nov 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a Guidebook for earthly living, a light that shines in a dark place, a light unto my path, a more sure word of prophecy, all I hoped it would be, all of the time, all scripture is given by inspiration of God, all sinned and disobeyed your word, alleviate our problems, an act of love, an extraordinary passion, ask for help, bind them continually upon thine heart, can't trust that day, could not guarantee, divine aid, ease the pain, eccentric opening, faith, find me crying, folk groups, forsake not the law of thy mother, God is still in control of the universe, God is still in the heavens, God loves us, guides our feet, holy men spake, holy spirit, howling winds, humble ourselves, in dire times, instruction in righteousness, it just turns out that way, it shall lead thee, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, John Phillips, keep thy father's commandment, keep you when you sleep, keep your promise to prosper us, leading a person to repentance, LOVE, mass confusion, mercy, mere mortals, Monday Monday, moved by the Holy Ghost, navigate the storms, negative situations, no prophecy or scripture is of private interpretation, no warning, not by the will of man, opens the path of life, pray, profitable for doctrine reproof correction, raging around us, reproofs of instruction are the way of life, salvation, seek God's face, sincere repentance, so good to me, spiritual growth, strong faith in Christ, take heed, talk with you, the BIBLE, the commandment is a lamp, the day star arise in your hearts, the God who heals, the goodness of God, the great value of God's Word, the law is light, The Mamas & Papas, the man of God may be perfect, the power to solve our many problems, the throne of grace, the transfiguration of Jesus, the word of the Lord, thoroughly furnished, thy word is a lamp unto my feet, tie them about thy neck, total surrender, tru faith, truth, turn from our evil ways, unlimited trust, until the day dawn, unto all good works, walk under God's protection, when thou goest, wisdom, wise guidance, you'd still be here with me
Psalm 119:105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Ah friends, those are the basic words of the hit song ‘Monday, Monday,’ written in 1966 by John Phillips of the Mamas & Papas and recorded by the group. And I just happened to remember the song while searching for an interesting, but somewhat eccentric opening. (smile) Most of you young folks won’t know the song, but it was indeed a big hit in the day when folk groups were popular, and I wonder how many of us experience such an intense and uncomfortable feeling on Mondays?
‘Monday, Monday, oh so good to me, Monday morning, it was all I hoped it would be, Oh, Monday morning, Monday morning could not guarantee, that Monday evening, You’d still be here with me…. Monday, Monday, can’t trust that day, Monday, Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way Oh, Monday mornin’ you gave me no warning’ of what was to be Oh, Monday, Monday, how could you leave and not take me? Every other day (Every other day), every other day Every other day of the week is fine, yeah But whenever Monday comes (But whenever Monday comes), but whenever Monday comes You can find me cryin’ all of the time… Oh Monday, Monday…’
And to be on the safe side, I won’t even offer an answer to that touchy question, (smile) but simply allow the day to play out as it will and thus provide the true answers. But let’s be sure of one thing; however the day plays out, and whatever answer we get to the question, be it good or bad, we must remember that our God is still in the high heavens, still in control of the universe, and still LOVES us with an extraordinary passion, one that mankind can never replicate, but can surely appreciate and be grateful for, especially in these crazy and uncertain times in which we currently live!
Yes my people, it’s only with true faith in Almighty God, unlimited trust and total surrender to His will, can we ever navigate the stormy waters and howling winds that are now raging around us. It’s like the psalmist declares: ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ (Ps. 119:105) And it surely is, for it’s the Word of the Lord that opens the path of life and light to us and guides our feet as we walk along it, under His awesome presence and protection.
Now, listen to how Cousin Sol puts it in Proverbs when he warns against adultery. ‘My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart (mind), and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:’ (Prov. 6:20-23). You cannot get wiser advice than that my brethren! And from the wisest man ever too! (smile)
And what are ‘reproofs of instruction’ you ask? This commentary gives a brief overview: It says, ‘In the Bible, “reproof” means to correct, rebuke, or express disapproval, with the goal of leading a person to repentance and improvement. It involves showing someone their faults and exposing error, and is considered an act of LOVE and a necessary part of spiritual growth. God’s Word provides reproof by revealing sin and guiding believers towards righteousness.’
And that’s exactly why it was written and passed down through the ages. As Bruh Paul says to Tmothy: ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect (blameless), thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’ (2 Tim. 3:16-17) What more can we say to encourage and enlighten us as to the great value of God’s Word to the believer eh?
Possibly these words from Peter, as he discusses his eyewitness account of Jesus’ transfiguration, when He was revealed to Peter, James and John in all His glory. (2 Pet. 1:16-18) He then writes: ‘We have also a more sure word of prophecy (the prophetic word made surer); whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy or scripture is of any private interpretation (origin). For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of (any) man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.’ (2 Pet. 1:19-21)
More confirmation that the Bible is God’s Word as directed by the Holy Ghost for holy men to write so that we can have a worthwhile guidebook for living this earthly life. But being mere mortals, we have not followed its guidelines properly, and thus have made all sorts of mistakes, however through the amazing goodness of God, we can go the throne of grace and ask for help in dire times like these. So, let’s do that right now nuh, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn.
Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face.
So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And is it ever interesting to note, that right in our prayer, we find the answers to our problems: humbling ourselves, praying, sincerely seeking God, and turning from our evil ways. So, if we truly desire divine aid, let’s get to correcting those faults nuh, for remember they are all for our benefit, not God’s! Much LOVE!
…if God did not truly care for us…He would not have given us a guidebook…the Bible…or a Saviour…Jesus Christ…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
02 Oct 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a man's life does not consist of his possessions, a positive outlook on life, abundance, an appropriate lesson for these times, be content with what you have, be in the world not of the world, before many witnesses, beware of covetousness, Christians living like the world, clear direction for my life, confessed a good confession, courage, covet not thy neighbour's wife, covetous vultures, covetousness is not a Christian attribute, creativity, curse, divine protection, don't covet anything that is your neighbour's, drown men in destruction, eat drink and be merry, engaging in greed and envy, erred from their faith, even as I am not of the world, evil doers, faith, fall into temptation, favour, fight the good fight, flee these things, follow after righteousness, godliness, godliness with contentment is great gain, greedy and covetous times, hast professed a good profession, having food and raiment, high-priced lawyers, holy spirit, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, in the name of Jesus, into many foolish and hurtful lusts, is not rich towards God, Jesus Christ, lay hold on eternal life, let us therewith be content, let your conduct be without covetousness, licentiousness, LOVE, maximization of earthly wealth, meekness, mercy, negative word, nice sunshiny weather, O man of God, our life's goal, patience, perdition, pierced themselves through with many sorrows, ruin and destruction, salvation, sanctify them through thy truth, self-control, self-discipline, set them apart, so is he that layeth up treasure for himself, some in their greediness, stop striving for material wealth, strayed from the faith, success, supernatural strength, supernatural wisdom, take heed, take thine ease, talent, the gospel truth, the Lord hath said, the LOVE of money, the parable of the Good Samaritan, the parable of the rich fool, the root of all kinds of evil, the Ten Commandments, the way of the world, they are not of the world, they that desire to be rich, this night thy soul shall be required of thee, thou hast much goods laid up for many years, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thy word is truth, truth, we brought nothing into this world, we can carry nothing out, which some coveted after, which thou hast provided, who is my neighbour, whose shall those things be, wisdom
Hebrews 13:5a. Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have:
Ah friends, I can’t believe it’s already Thursday, the penultimate day of our workweek! The week has certainly passed quickly, and October seems to be giving us some nice sunshiny weather, though a tad on the cooler side. And we won’t complain, although complaining seems to be our lot these days. (smile) Now, as I was leafing through the Good Library, seeking something to write on, I came across this rather interesting and most appropriate lesson for these particular times.
It’s a verse from the author of Hebrews, which very conveniently, we only remember the last half, while seldom paying any attention to the first half. Why? Because the scripture admonishes and wisely advises us thus: ‘Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he (the Lord) hath said , I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Heb. 13:5)
Yes my people, we tell ourselves that the last half of the verse is the gospel truth, but we completely ignore the first half, because that’s the way of the world in these greedy and covetous times, and too many of us supposed believers are living like the world, not like Christians. Remember what Jesus said when He prayed for the disciples, and consequently us? ‘They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them (set them apart) through thy truth: thy word is truth.’ (John 17:16-17)
Yes friends, we’re supposed to be in the world, but set aside from the world, and knowing God’s Word, which is the infallible truth, we’re not supposed to be behaving like the world. But unfortunately, too many of us are doing just that, engaging in the greed, envy and licentiousness that we’re supposed to resist and instead make public, so that the evil doers can see the light of Christ. And the sad part is that the admonishment against covetousness is not a new one, for it was framed from time immemorial in the Ten Commandments which the Lord gave to the Israelites and subsequently to those who professed belief in him and His Son Jesus Christ.
So, let’s cast our minds back to that august document, set out in Exodus 20. The last commandment of those ten, most explicitly warns: ‘Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.’ (Ex. 20:17) Now, what about that don’t we understand eh?
And some of you trying to be smart might say, it only talks about our neighbour’s stuff. Well for your information, everybody around you, whether you live close to them or not, is your neighbour. Remember when the foolish lawyer who wanted to be seen, asked Jesus the same question, ‘Who is my neighbour?’ And Jesus then told him the parable of the Good Samaritan, showing his neighbour was anyone whom he came into contact with. (Luke 10: 28-37) So, don’t covet, means just that: don’t covet anything at all from anybody. Covetousness ought not to be an attribute of a believer in Christ Jesus.
And Jesus Himself warned us about covetousness, when someone asked him to talk to his brother about sharing their inheritance, ‘And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge, or a divider (an arbitrator) over you? And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.’ (Luke 12:13-15) Then, as was His wont, to back up His statement, Jesus told them the parable of the rich fool. Where this man had so much stuff, he had nowhere to store them. So in his foolish, worldly wisdom decided to tear down all his storehouses and build bigger and better ones, so he could store all his goods.
‘And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat drink and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God.’ (Luke 12:19-21)
And we see that happening every day, where some person who has spent their entire lives building great material wealth, suddenly dies. And what becomes of their fortune eh? They surely cannot take it with them. No, it’s left behind for a lot of greedy, covetous vultures in human form to fight over it. And in the end, the people who benefit most are the high-priced lawyers they hire to fight for it! What godly justice for greed and covetousness.
And we can’t have a scriptural conversation on covetousness without these remarkable words of Bruh Paul to Timothy on the subject. He writes: ‘But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment (clothing) let us be therewith content. But they that will be (desire to be) rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful (harmful) lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition (ruin and destruction).
For the LOVE of money is the root of all kinds of evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from their faith (for which, some in their greediness have strayed from the faith), and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.’ (1 Tim. 6:6-12)
Ah mih bredrin, Bruh Paul says it all right there! It’s high time we believers stop making the attainment of material wealth our life’s goal. There’s nothing wrong with having wealth, but living to create it is unwise. Especially since the Lord has blessed us with what we call our Thursday Blessings; so many undeserved blessings, to do our earthly work. So let’s declare and thus activate them right now nuh!
As one strong and sincere voice. ‘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 every day! Amen!’
And having activated those blessings, it now behooves us to go out and use them on behalf of others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…godliness with contentment…is what Christians should be seeking…not maximization of earthly wealth…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
19 Aug 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a dysfunctional family, a forefather of Jesus, Absalom, all these things happened unto them, Ammon, bad decisions, bewildered, but such as is common to man, Christians, civil war, clutches, could have sworn I was free, crushes, daringly, dauntingly, defeat, desire steals in, despair, did not lose everything, don't let me renege, duty bound, faith, fiercely threatening me, for examples, God is faithful, God will make a way of escape, God will not leave you stranded, God will not suffer you to be tempted more than you can bear, have a part to play, havoc, Hold Me to My Yes, holy spirit, house of cards, hurry, I'm frightened, immediate pseudo-happiness, in god's eyes, in our defence, Israel's history as an example, Jesus Christ, lest he fall, let him that thinks he stands firm, like a midnight thief, LOVE, mercy, my total being responded, no temptation has overtaken you, nor has ugliness plagued me, old memories have not haunted me, others can come to know and love Christ like we do, quench the parched earth, repented of his folly, resist temptation, sacrificed the ultimate victory, salvation, share His love with my neighbours, sincerely loved the Lord, spells disaster, suddenly, take heed, Tamar, temptation will always come, the beloved of God, the BIBLE, the day I said yes to you, the ends of the world, the enemy seeks the target of my heart, the example of David and Bathsheba, the sinister temptation, through faith and God's grace, to sacrifice the ultimate for the immediate, to share the amazing love and friendship of Christ, trust my friend Jesus, truth, Tuesday Mantra, until my breath is tight, until my thoughts reel, until now, wisdom, with the temptation, worry, written for our admonition
1 Corinthians 10:12. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth (stands firm) take heed lest he fall.
And it’s a humid, cloudy morning in my neck of the woods. But whether or not rain will fall is another matter. Let’s hope that some does fall though to quench the parched and thirsty earth, and help put out the forest fires that are still burning all over the place. For, earlier on when I opened my bedroom blinds I smelled smoke, and before I came down here to write the Bit, I went out on to my porch and I also smelled smoke out there. Don’t know where it’s coming from, but let’s hope and pray that the rain comes in sufficient quantity and puts an end to it all.
Now, today we’ll look at an interesting and very appropriate poem for many of us, from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. And the interesting aspect begins right with the title, ‘Hold Me to My Yes.’ So please read with me: ‘I’m frightened, Lord Bewildered What shall I do? I could have sworn I was free – Free from the sinister temptation So fiercely threatening me. Months have passed Even years Not once have old memories haunted me Nor has ugliness plagued me Until now.
Suddenly Tauntingly Daringly Desire steals in Like a midnight thief. It clutches Crushes Until my thoughts reel Until my breath is tight. Lord, the day I said yes to You My total being responded. This You know. Now while the enemy seeks The target of my heart Don’t let me renege – Hold me to my yes. For this we both know: To sacrifice the ultimate For the immediate Spells disaster Despair Defeat.’
And don’t we all know that. For many times in our lives, although we ought to have known better, we have sacrificed the ultimate victory which includes waiting, or doing something else, for the immediate pseudo-happiness. We have a very good example of that in Bruh David, who instead of being out fighting with His men, stayed at home and then allowed the enemy to foolishly get him involved with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of his trusted soldiers. And one thing led to another.
He got Bathsheba pregnant, made arrangements for her husband to be killed out on the battle field, took her to wife, then lost the son she eventually bore, and had oodles of problems for the rest of his life because of that one unwise transgression. The Lord promised him that his family would be dysfunctional, and they certainly were. With one son Ammon, falling in LOVE another son’s sister Tamar, eventually raping her, causing the brother, Absalom to kill him, who then ran for his life to another territory.
In the meanwhile Bruh David grieved the loss of his sons, but then after some three years, was talked into letting Absalom return home. One more mistake on Bruh David’s part, for that same Absalom eventually rose up against his father in civil war, causing him to flee. And finally while fighting his father’s forces, Absalom was hanged when his mule went under the thick boughs of an oak tree and his head was caught in it. But when Bruh David heard this, he mourned for His son Absalom, and was rebuked by his friend and right hand man Joab. And you can find all of that in 2 Samuel chapters 11 to 19, along with all the deceits and conniving that went on during that time.
So you see, from one mistake, Bruh David’s whole house of cards tumbled down. But because He sincerely LOVED the Lord, and repented of his folly, He did not allow him to lose everything and kept his name front and centre, even to being a forefather of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. That just goes to show the havoc that can be wreaked on us, and those close to us, when we make bad decisions. Therefore we must be very careful in all our doings, especially in these deceitful and untrustworthy times, always seeking wise guidance from the Lord, for what might seem right, might not be wise, it might just be a ploy of the devil to get us into trouble.
And we definitely don’t need his help, since we do enough of that on our own. (smile) Anyway, the scripture posed for today’s poem is also interesting. It comes from Bruh Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, talking about Isreal’s history as being an example for us all. He writes: ‘Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples (examples): and they are written for our admonition (instruction), upon whom the ends of the world (ages) are come.
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth (stands firm) take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken (overtaken) you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able: but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear (endure) it.’ (1 Cor. 10:11-13)
Yes my fellow believers, there is no temptation that will overtake you that has never been used before, but in the Lord’s goodness, He will either make a way for you to escape it, or give you the strength and willpower to endure it. But we also have a part to play in that, by knowing the scriptures and being able to bring them to mind to first resist the temptation, and if not, then to have the necessary amount of faith to know that the Lord will not leave you stranded. Remember, we all have a part to play in our own defence, it’s not only in God’s hands.
As we see from Bruh David’s example, although he messed up badly, his faith in and LOVE for God were strong enough to keep him going throughout all his many problems. That’s the kind of faith in and LOVE for our heavenly Father that we need to have, if we’re to be able to handle our problems. Now, let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
That now makes us duty bound to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…temptation will always come…but through faith and God’s grace…we will handle it…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
21 Nov 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a dangerous supposition, a great family, a light at the end of the tunnel, a man's life does not consist of his possessions, a vapour, arrogance, asking for God's opinion, beware of covetousness, boast not thyself of tomorrow, buy and sell, Christians, confer with God, courage, creativity, curse, destroyed, doeth it not, eat drink and be merry, evil doers will be cut off, faith, favour, good freinds, good health, he sees that his day is coming, holy spirit, if the Lord will, is not rich towards God, Jesus Christ, LOVE, make a profit, mercy, negative word, painted with that brush, prosper, rejoicing in boastings is evil, repercussions, salvation, self-control, self-discipline, shall inherit the earth, success, take heed, take thine ease, that appears for a little time, the abundance of peace, the abundance of things, the Lord shall laugh at him, then vanishes away, they that wait upon the Lord, this night thy soul shall be required of thee, thou fool, thou hast much goods laid up, thou knowest not what a day may bring forth, to him it is sin, to him that knoweth to do good, today or tomorrow, truth, we shall live and do this or that, we will go into such a city, what is your life, wisdom, ye ought to say, ye rejoice in your boasting
James 4:15. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
And now it’s Thursday; the penultimate day of our work week…and we’re seeing a li’l light at the end of the tunnel…for tomorrow is Friday…the day we live for! But please remember we’ve got to get through Thursday before we can celebrate Friday, and who knows what can happen in that space of time. So let’s not be too confident of being alive and with everything being okay on Friday.
That brings to mind James’ discourse on Rejoicing in Boastings is Evil. He writes: ‘Go to now (come now), ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain (make a profit): Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice (boast) in your boasting (arrogance): all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.’ (James 4:13-17)
Ah friends, we all do that kind of stuff, without even considering what the Father has in mind, much less asking His opinion or blessing on whatever we want to do. We simply take things for granted, that they will go along as they always have. But that’s a dangerous supposition, for life can change without a moment’s notice. That’s why it’s always good to speak with the Father before making our pronouncements, for He might just be of a different opinion. (smile)
And I like how the scholars explain the first two verses there: ‘This one is a fool, for he thinks he knows something that he doesn’t. He presumes he has the resources to control his destiny. (cf. Prov. 27:1; Luke 12:13-21).’ But sadly, far too many of us, even Christians, can be painted with that brush. But as Cousin Sol so rightly tells us in Proverbs: ‘Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.’ (Prov. 27:1) And we know that scripture, but we still do it, because we’ve gotten so accustomed to doing it without any serious repercussions.
That brings us to the other reference the scholars gave where Jesus teaches us to beware of covetousness. He warns: ‘Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.’ (Luke 12:15) Then He goes on to tell them this parable about the rich, greedy fool. The one where this rich man’s harvest has been so bountiful that he has nowhere to store it.
So he says to himself: ‘This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow (store) all my fruits (crops) and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’(Luke 12:17-21)
That again is so true of too many of us, who kill ourselves to accumulate the material things of the world, without any thought to God, neither spending time with Him and being obedient to His word or keeping Him first place in our lives, nor giving generously of our possessions to do His kingdom work. That obviously will draw forth His displeasure. And yes, there are many of the wicked who are amassing great fortunes, but please remember the Lord’s Word that the wicked will destroyed, and won’t even be remembered.
Bruh David says it in Psalm 37 – Trust in the Lord. ‘For evil doers shall be cut off destroyed: but they that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider (look diligently for) his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.’ (Ps. 37:9-13)
It could not be said any plainer or more straightforward than that my brethren. So please let’s take serious note of those words and do our best to refrain from the world’s entreaties, from the enemy’s attempts to get us involved in evil doing. And let’s remember, as James says, those who know how to do good and don’t do it, to them it’s considered sin. Now, let’s go home declaring (chuh!!!) and thus activating our Thursday Blessings that the Lord has so generously bestowed on us to do His earthly work.
As one voice: ‘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 every day! Amen!’
And having activated those undeserved blessings, it’s now our bounden duty to go out and use them on behalf of others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…before making any pronouncements…it’s always best to confer with God first…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
22 Mar 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a word of warning, all such rejoicing is evil, and doeth it not to him it is sin, backsliders, beware of covetousness, Bible, boast not thyself of tomorrow, boasting, buy and sell and make profit, christianity, continue there a year, divine help, eat drink and be merry, error of their ways, faith, foolish pride, Friday chant, go into a city, go to now ye that say, god, he that layeth up treasure for himself, I will say to my soul, if the Lord will, is not rich toward God, it is even a vapour, Jesus, Jesus Christ, LOVE, one one cocoa full basket, simmering unrest, snowy weather conditions, Soul thou hast much goods laid up for any years, stand strong and steadfast, take heed, take thine ease, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, that appeareth for a little time then vanisheth away, the devil's playground, the example we faithful believers set, the green eyed monster, the parable of the rich fool, the throne of grace, the Wrath of a Fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee, thou fool, thou knowest not what a day may bring forth, to him that knoweth to do good, today or tomorrow, we shall live and do this or that, what is your life, wisdom, ye rejoice in your boastings
Proverbs 27:1. Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
Well, it’s that day, when all the voices around the world can’t help but sing ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ Let’s hope that those who went to work on clear, dry ground this morning won’t be too unhappy when they have to make the evening drive home in snowy weather conditions. Yes, the snow has begun coming down in my area, and granted, right now it’s merely trickling down, but as my Jamaican people would say, ‘one one cocoa full basket.’ And that’s the truth, a little of anything builds up over time, so if the snow continues to fall, even as slowly as it’s now doing, by this afternoon a fair amount would have fallen and made driving and walking conditions difficult.
So, a word of warning, unless you must go out, don’t go! (smile) And today we’ll talk about a very popular but unwise thing that we all do from time to time. It comes from the wise words of Cousin Sol in Proverbs, under the general heading of ‘The Wrath of a Fool. It says: ‘Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.’ (Prov. 27:1) And doesn’t that sound familiar. It certainly does! For as James, Jesus’ brother, so wisely wrote to the Jewish diaspora.
‘Go to now (come now), ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain (make a profit): Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice (boast) in your boastings (arrogance): all such rejoicing (boasting) is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.’ (James 4:13-17)
Oh my people, what wonderful words of wisdom and good advice are to be found in that passage of scripture! First, we make all sorts of pronouncements about our future without including God, without even asking for His opinion and/or direction. That’s not wise, for who knows what another day may bring, since our lives are as vapour, that’s here one minute and gone the next. A lot of people went to bed last night expecting to get up this morning and continue life as usual, only to be disappointed, because they were either too ill to get up or the Lord had called them home during the night. That just shows how little control we have over our lives.
Again, many people who have left home this morning hale and hearty to go to work, won’t return home this evening because they either got sick at work and ended up in the hospital, or they met in a car accident and unexpectedly departed this life. So that should teach us two things; firstly, to always involve God in all of our decisions, to seek out His eternal wisdom on whatever we’re planning to do. And secondly, to always be good to the ones we LOVE, show them true appreciation, and tell them we LOVE them at every opportunity, for we don’t know if or when we will be unexpectedly separated.
Now, all of that reminds us of the parable of the rich fool that Jesus told, when asked about dividing an inheritance between two brothers. First off, He warned: ‘Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.’ (Luke 12:15) Yes friends, the tentacles of the green eyed monster; envy, jealousy, selfishness and covetousness are rampant in our world today. We must remember though that our earthly possessions are not the most important things in our lives, for as we said earlier on, our lives are like a wisp of vapour; one minute here, then gone the next. So why spoil our already short lives by coveting and fighting for earthly things that we will just leave behind for others to fight over eh? It’s the height of foolish pride!
Then Jesus told this most appropriate parable. ‘The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits (store my crops)? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow (store) all my fruits (crops) and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’ (Luke 12:16- 21)
As usual, my fellow saints, Jesus did not mince words. He spoke it loudly and plainly. Those who don’t have God in their lives, as their guiding light, will eventually stumble and fall into the darkness of the evil one. Please, let us learn the necessary lessons from all that we’ve said this morning, so we don’t fall into Satan’s evil net. Now, it’s time to go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, asking for help in these our desperate times of need.
As one voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.
And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And I’d just like to remind us that no divine help will be forthcoming until we show the ‘trusting faith’ and be the good ‘examples of faithful believers,’ we spoke of in our prayer. Much LOVE!
…boasting…in and of ourselves…is the devil’s playground…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
01 Jul 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a lazy-day Saturday, an outward miraculous manifestation, apostasy, beware of the doctrine of the Pharisees, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, come unto the knowledge of truth, esoteric quest for truth, ever learning, Happy Canada Day, hereby knoweth ye the Spirit of God, how many baskets ye took up, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, in the last days perilous times shall come, increase my awareness of you today, Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, let my muscles relax, Lord I want to be with you now, LOVE, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, men shall be lovers of their own selves, never able to come, O ye of little faith, prey upon silly women, quiet my soul, remember Almighty God, Sadducees, slow my thoughts, take heed, thank you for this tenderness, that I may know you all the more, the five loaves of the five thousand, the Pharisees, the seven loaves of the four thousand, warnings of smoke, your love both surrounds and fills me, your peace and love are present
Matthew 16:6. Then Jesus said to them, Take heed and beware of the leaven (yeast) of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
HAPPY CANADA DAY!
Well friends, this Lazy -day Saturday has certainly opened into a bright and sparkling summer’s day, although with some warnings of smoke. But, despite that negative attachment, it promises to be a wonderful celebration of our country’s birthday! So, a Happy Canada Day to all you my Scrip-Bit friends and families! May the Lord bless us with all we need to enjoy this memorable weekend, as we remember that Canada is still one of the few countries you can move around with a fair amount of freedom and without too much provocation re racial and religious and political matters.
And most of all, let’s remember the One who gave us all the good things that we have; Almighty God, and give Him the proper thanks, praise and reverence that He deserves. Now, as one sincere voice, let’s say our Lazy-Day Saturday prayer. ‘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!’
Oh my faithful brethren, every time we say that prayer, it touches something deep within me. I guess it just seems to bring us closer to our heavenly Father in real time. And it seems to be ever so appropriate for a lazy-day Saturday, where we have no pressing commitments, so we can afford to relax and spend some satisfying quiet time with our Creator and Provider, our Comforter and place of Refuge. And I hope you all feel the same way, and do spend some quiet time with the One who LOVES us so much that He sacrificed His only Son Jesus for our benefit.
And do I ever LOVE the Good Library, for as always, when I don’t know what to say and I open it, it always points me to something interesting. And today it opened unto the 16th Chapter of Matthew where Jesus had just finished berating the Pharisees and Sadducees re asking for a sign from heaven, an outward miraculous manifestation, then left them standing in awe and confusion. (Matt. 16:1-4) Then He went on to warn the disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
The Good Library relates it thus: ‘And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said to them, Take heed and beware of the leaven (yeast) of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them. O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many baskets you took up?’ (Matt. 16:5-10)
And it is indeed amazing that the disciples could forget the two miracles Jesus did with little food to serve a multitude and then have plenty left over. And those miracles you can find in several of the gospels, but for easy access, I’ll just quote them from Matthew; Chapter 14:15-21 and Chapter 15:32-38. So they should have realized that it really had nothing to do with them not bringing bread, for if the situation truly warranted it, Jesus had the awesome power to provide actual bread for them, to fill all their physical needs and still have much left over.
But their young, uneducated minds never considered those things, thus Jesus had to explain it further to them. ‘How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, but that ye should beware of the leaven (yeast) of the Pharisees and Sadducees? Then understood they how he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine (teaching) of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ (Matt. 16:11-12) And yuh know what my fellow believers, that warning of Jesus still holds true for all of us today, because there are still many out there who are teaching a false or incorrect gospel, one slanted to their own unscrupulous desires.
That leads us to these prophetic words of Bruh Paul to Timothy. ‘This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous (money lovers), boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers (irreconcilable), false accusers (slanderers), incontinent (without self-control), fierce (brutal), despisers of those that are good,
Traitors, heady (reckless), highminded (haughty), lovers of pleasures more than (rather than) lovers of God: Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts. Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.’ (2 Tim. 3:1-7)
Oh my bredrin, I don’t know if these are the last days or not, because there are many arguments over the signs etc., but what I do know for sure is that all those things Bruh Paul warned Timothy about are very rampant in our current world. And if you don’t see them, then you’re living with your head in the sky or in the dirt. Lawlessness and irresponsibility are at unbelievable heights. Promises are made and broken without remorse. Pleasure is our number one activity. And we boast so much about what we don’t have that it’s shameful.
Oh friends, apostasy, that’s abandonment and renunciation of our religious beliefs is definitely alive and well. You see people all over the place turning away from God, and there’s even a foolish movement afoot to try and completely rid our society of God. Hn! That’s undoubtedly a fool’s wisdom! For it will never happen, because God will never allow it. He might allow us to do all sorts of other nonsense, but rid the society of His awesome presence…NEVER!
And we’ll close with a couple of explanations from the scholars on those verses above. They say that ‘A form of godliness is mere religion without power or spiritual life. Paul commands Timothy to turn away from those false teachers who prey upon silly women laden with sins, who are especially susceptible to false teachers. Ever learning and never coming to the knowledge of the truth condemns not intense study, but some esoteric quest for truth apart from God’s word.’
And is there ever much questing for truth today my fellow saints. Never knew there could be more than one truth. But everybody seems to have their own truth in these perilous times. And those who don’t have it, are unfortunately searching for truth in all the wrong places, when it’s right in front of their very faces, in the Word of God! Much LOVE!
…hereby knoweth ye the Spirit of God…every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh…is of God… (1 John 4:2)
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
06 Mar 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a good and faithful God, a great while before day, a man's life consisteth not, a tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye, and in the morning, and there he prayed, asking for guidance and wisdom, be grateful for what you have, bet your bottom dollar, beware of covetousness, do not fear failure, don, don't repay evil for evil, evil for evil, fear not trying, flavourful salt of the earth, good vibes, he went out and departed into a solitary place, He will never let you down, in failure you learn the true lessons of life, in the abundance of things, light of the world, LOVE, LOVE our enemies, my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are not your ways, new mercies and compassions, react with a good attitude, recompense to no man, retaliation principle, rising up, set a right template for the day, spend time giving thanks, start each day, take heed, the evil twin sisters of greed and jealousy, transported to your soul, wisdom of the highest order, with a positive thought and a grateful heart, you can choose how you respond to it, you cannot control the behaviour of others
Mark 1:35. And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary (deserted) place, and there he prayed.
So here it is, that big day called Saturday! (smile) So what’s in store for you today eh? Hope it’s more of those new mercies and compassions of our wonderful God! And if you have stayed with Him, surrendered your life and will to Him, I am sure that those good vibes will be, or have already been transported to your soul and spirit. Bless His holy name my faithful friends! For He is indeed a good and faithful God and will never let you down, or leave and forsake you. You can bet your bottom dollar, as well as your life, your eternal destiny on that!
He’s so awesome, so powerful and all-knowing that we can’t even comprehend His thoughts and ways. No wonder He proclaims to us mere mortals: ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is, 55:8-9) And all of God’s people said a loud, proud and grateful ‘Amen!’ Yes friends, once we admit those two statements, then we are on the way to a good thing.
Now let’s see what interesting quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week. Hope I can get my head around them. (smile) And this first one is boss! ‘Start each day with a positive thought and a grateful heart.’ Now that’s definitely the best way to begin each day: on a positive note, with prayer and thanksgiving. That way you set a right template for the entire day. Yuh notice how Jesus began His days? Mark tells us: ‘And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary (deserted) place, and there he prayed.’ (Mark 1:35)
Oh my people, if Jesus needed to get in touch with His heavenly Father each and every morning, who are we to be different eh, especially if we’re His loyal and faithful followers? No, we don’t have to get up before the break of day, and go out into a deserted place, but we do have to spend at least a few moments giving thanks and asking for guidance, wisdom and safety to begin our day. That’s just wisdom of the highest order!
And the next quote says: ‘Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying.’ That’s more gospel truth my brethren! We should not be afraid to fail, but we should be afraid of not trying, because it’s only in trying that you can find success. If you don’t try, you’ll never succeed!
And though you may fail when you try, it’s in that failure that you learn the real and true lessons of life. There are so many who people failed many times before they eventually found success. That means that every time you fail, you’ve got to get back up and try again, especially if you’re a follower of Jesus, because giving up does not exist in His vocabulary. (smile)
And that’s a rather appropriate message for us believers in this pandemic time; we can’t afford to fail, or to give up on doing Christ’s work, because He’s depending on us. He expects us to be the very flavourful salt of the earth and light of the world, so that people can see our good deeds and glorify His Father in heaven. So let’s not even think about failure or giving up nuh.
And then there’s this: ‘You cannot control the behavior of others, but you can always choose how you respond to it.’ Oh friends, more indisputable truth! We can’t control how people behave, but we can certainly control how we react to their behaviour. And Jesus desires that all His followers always react with a good attitude…well within reason, (smile) for we are frail and weak human beings, so we do make mistakes.
But seriously though precious people, these times we’re living in are so prevalent with bad behaviour that it’s hard to avoid it on any given day. Things like manners no longer exist in our selfish and me first and alone society. So it does take a strong and mature spirit to avoid reacting to bad behaviour with our own bad behaviour.
Jesus taught us to LOVE our enemies, not to use the retaliation principle of an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth, but to turn the other cheek when smitten on one, and to go the extra mile.’ (Matt. 5:38-44) And Bruh Paul said it thus to the church at Rome: ‘Recompense (repay) to no man evil for evil… Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.’ (Rom. 12:17a, 21) It couldn’t be any clearer than that my brethren.
Now here comes another tough nut to crack. ‘Even if you cannot change all the people around you, you can change the people you choose to be around. Life is too short to waste your time on people who don’t respect, appreciate, and value you. Spend your life with people who make you smile, laugh, and feel LOVED.’ And it’s all very true, but not very easy to do in practice, because you can’t change people unless they want to change, and ofttimes you don’t have the power to get different people around you, those who make you laugh and respect you.
For example, in the many families we have nowadays where respect and compassion for each other is sadly lacking. You might want to get away from them but you can’t because they are family and you live together. It’s the same with co-workers who don’t treat you right. It’s not always easy to find another job, so sometimes you just have to put up with negative attitude and show a positive one yourself, like Jesus told us above. You can do it more easily with friends though.
And when you become a follower of Jesus, He will probably ease you away from some old friends, who are bad influences on you, and bring new ones who are a better supporting cast. But we do need to do our best to have people around us who care for us and are willing to encourage us and keep us accountable. It makes no sense to spend too much time around sour, negative, disgruntled people who only pull us down. End of story! (smile)
And the last quote is also a great one. ‘Be grateful for what you already have while you pursue your goals. If you aren’t grateful for what you already have, what makes you think you would be happy with more.’ Oh friends, that’s the nature of the beast! We are never satisfied with what we have, yet we keep wanting more. How many of us have oodles of stuff around us which we once thought was so wonderful, but now lies in a disregarded pile heaven only knows where?
So what makes us think that the more we have the happier we will be eh? The evil twin sisters of ‘greed and jealousy!’ And Jesus covers that splendidly in the parable of the rich fool, where He says: ‘Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.’ (Luke. 12:15) Yes friends, that says it all; more is not necessarily good or better; ofttimes it’s worse. Let’s remember that and live accordingly nuh. Much LOVE!
…be grateful for the little things…for when you are…big things usually come your way…
10 Aug 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man's life, a patriot, Adam and Eve, against greed, against his government, an abundance of possessions, Anselm, aspires to inspire, be merry, be on guard, beware of covetousness, ceded power to Satan, citizens have forfeited ownership, complacent, consiteth not, corruption, drin, earthly things are temporary, eat, endanger the morals, fight back, fight tooth and nail, for a better tomorrow, free for all fight, get fighting mad, godly, greedy lawyers, heavenly things are forever, in the abundance of things, lay not up for yourselves, lay up treasures in heaven, LOVE, moth and rust doth corrupt, of an individual, politicians are our employees, prostitution, rampant, ready to defend his country, rest on his laurels, righteous citizens, selfish interests, steal, take heed, the entire country, the good life, the parable of the rich fool, there will your heart be also, thieves break through, to politicians, treasures on earth, we own this country, where your treasure is
Luke 12:15. Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth.
Welcome to another sunny summer’s day friends! Yes, I know it’s been going on for a little while now, but if a body can’t sleep in some on the last day of the week, what’s the purpose of being alive eh? (smile)
But nonetheless, let’s give our wonderful God much thanks and praise for allowing, for enabling us to see it nuh! Because it’s only because His breath of life is still flowing through our bodies that we can see and enjoy it. He hasn’t pulled the plug on us, at least not yet, and for that we need to be eternally grateful!
Anyway, it’s Saturday, so let’s see what words of wisdom our friend Anselm imparted to us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And our friend waxed somewhat political and patriotic this week. Listen up to this first one: ‘I would just like to say something, ladies and gentlemen. Something that I think is very important. It is that, you, we – we own this country. We – we own it. It is not you owning it, and not politicians owning it. Politicians are employees of ours.’
Mama Yo! And he’s perfectly right. The citizens of a country own it. However, just like Adam and Eve ceded power to the devil when they listened to his deceitful words and ate of the forbidden fruit, likewise we citizens have forfeited ownership of our countries by allowing the politicians to bamboozle us with their sweet talk that’s only full of lies and deceit. We’ve allowed the crazy inmates to take over the madhouse. And once you’ve ceded power, it’s awfully hard to get it back.
But here’s how it can be won back: ‘A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.’ Yes friends, once the inmates are in control of the institution, the only way to dislodge them is to fight, fight tooth and nail against them, because they will not give up their power voluntarily.
The unfortunate problem nowadays though is that not too many of us are not willing to fight tooth and nail to recover anything, much less the running of our countries. We’ve become so enthralled and complacent by the good life we’re living, that we just can’t bear to give it up, and fighting for anything has the distinct possibility of losing stuff that we cherish. The whole point here is what do we cherish most, and what are willing to fight for?
And this next quote continues the political discourse: ‘ Corruption is worse than prostitution. The latter might endanger the morals of an individual, the former invariably endangers the morals of the entire country.’ So true my people! But again, unfortunately, that’s the vibe that’s running the world now. Corruption is so rampant and deep in so many countries of the world that it’s easier to list which ones aren’t corrupt, if any, than to list those that are corrupt.
And there too, corruption will only cease when the godly, righteous and decent citizens of a country get fighting mad and decide to actually fight back against it, remove the numerous corrupt people in power and replace them with godly, righteous and trustworthy ones.
But sadly we will need to replace almost all the people in power to do that, because corruption has become another name for politician, and most of our citizens don’t want to disturb their lives, especially when many of them are also recipients of corrupt favours and money. And that’s the end of the political quotes! (smile)
But this one is just as important: ‘What can’t you live without? Why? Is it something that lasts forever, or just for a moment?’ Good question that my people! Remember Jesus’ advice: ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin, destroy), and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Matt.6:19-21) That advice goes for anything we want or hunger for friends! Technically our wants should have a godly basis, but that’s not very easy to accomplish in this world full of ungodly distractions.
That brings us to the last quote: ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’ And Jesus spelled that out in spades in the parable of the rich fool. When a man in a crowd said to Jesus, ‘Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.’ Jesus replied: ‘Man, who made me a judge or a divider (an arbitrator) over you?’ (Luke 12:13-14)
And the scholars declare: ‘12:14. Jesus will not be a part of furthering someone’s selfish interests. He calls for people to serve the Lord and others, not themselves.’ So true! Then Jesus spoke these immortal words of wisdom: ‘Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth.’
Oh friends, there again, our world today, under the evil, ungodly and corrupt rule of Satan and his demonic followers, is so filled with greed and covetousness that it’s truly difficult not to get caught up in the foolishness. But Jesus warned us about the man who had so much that he had nowhere to store it, and foolishly decided to tear down everything and build bigger and better and then rest on his laurels thereafter.
‘And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’ (Luke 12:19-21)
And we see that happening a lot in our current world, where people who were seeking the earth’s riches suddenly die and there estates become a free-for –all fight between their descendants, with the greedy lawyers oftimes getting the most substantial portion for their efforts to divide it.
Please, I implore us not to seek the world’s wealth above the work we need to do for God, because that’s just a fool’s wisdom. And the Lord has promised to provide all we need when we put His kingdom first. (Matt.6:33) So let’s take Him up on that nuh, since He never breaks His promises! Much LOVE!
…earthly things are only temporary…but the things of heaven…of God…are forever…
Previous Older Entries
SCRIP-BITS 