The Importance of Being Born Again and Living as a Child of God!

18 Aug 2024 Leave a comment

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

Romans 8:14.        For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Another Sunday has dawned friends, meaning it’s time to gather once more in the Lord’s house to celebrate His day in sincere worship and heartfelt prayer, while enjoying each other’s company with exhortation and encouragement or comfort as the situation may call for. (smile) Yes, whenever we get together, we are expected to exhort, encourage and comfort each other in the Lord. And as we hear God’s word and sing His praises, His Holy Spirit works in us to renew our hope and uplift our faith, so that we can competently handle whatever comes against us in the upcoming week. 

And todays song of praise ‘No Longer A Slave To Fear,’ was initially popularized by the group Bethel Music featuring Jonathan David & Melissa Helser, the lead single from their seventh live album, We Will Not Be Shaken, released in 2015. But we’ll be singing the recently popularized, scintillating, soulful, in your face version by Tasha Cobbs. So, let’s open our hearts and voices as we offer sweet sacrificial praise to our magnificent God! 

Beginning with a couple of powerful declarations of the chorus: ‘(Chorus: I’m no longer a slave to fear, For I am a child of God (2) You unravel me, with a melody, You surround me with a song, Of deliverance, from my enemies, Till all my fears are gone. (Chorus: I’m no longer, a slave to fear, For I am a child of God (2) From my mother’s womb, You have chosen me, Your LOVE has called my name, I’ve been born again, Into your family, Your blood flows through my veins. 

(Chorus: I’m no longer, a slave to fear, For I am, a child of God (2) Oh oh, oh oh oh. Oh oh, oh oh oh! You split the sea, So I could walk right through, My fears are drowned, In perfect LOVE, You rescued me, so I could stand and sing, I am a child of God …You split the sea, So I could walk right through it, My fears are drowned, In perfect LOVE, You rescued me, so I could stand and sing, I am a child of God, I am a child of God, I am a child of God…. 

I know who I am, I know who I am, I am a child of God! He calls me the head and not the tail, Above and not beneath, a lender and not a borrower. So I no longer walk in fear, but in faith. For I am a child of God. If you are a child of God, sing Hallelujah to His glorious name!’ 

Marvellous mih people, marvellous! Can you imagine the uproar that song of praise caused in heaven? By the second verse, all of heaven, including Jesus, had joined in to offer soulful, anthemic praise to the Father. And yuh better believe the Father was ecstatic, elated, overjoyed by the overwhelming praise. It’s been a long time since He’s heard such sincere, soulful, scintillating sacrifices of praise! 

And it’s interesting to note that the song contains all sorts of scriptural references. And we’ll begin by ascertaining what exactly is meant by no longer being slaves to fear. This commentary tells it thus: ‘God moved you from imprisonment to freedom, from an old life in which sin was your master to a new life in which sin is no longer in a position to control you (Romans 6:14). Being in Christ puts you in a new position in relation to sin. Sin is still your enemy, but it is no longer your master.’ 

Yes friends, we are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to righteousness. And Bruh Paul emphasizes that in Chapter 6 of Romans, where he’s writing about walking in newness of life in Christ. But because of time and space, we’ll only quote this last verse from Chapter 5. ‘That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Rom. 5:21) And these two from Chapter 6. ‘For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace…For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Rom. 6:14, 23) 

It’s advisable to read the whole chapter to get the full gist of the topic. (smile) But basically it means we can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or we can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once we were slaves of sin, but those who wholeheartedly obey Christ’s teaching are now free from slavery to sin and have become slaves to righteous living. Glory to God! 

And as per children of God? Bruh Paul makes that abundantly clear in Romans 8, when he writes: ‘For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.’ (Rom. 8:14-17) 

Now there’s nothing better than being a child of God my brethren, an heir with Christ to all that the Father has! Then these words of the song ‘From my mother’s womb, You have chosen me,’ ostensibly point to Jeremiah’s call from God. He writes: ‘Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly (womb) I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee (set you apart), and I ordained (appointed) thee a prophet unto the nations.’ (Jer. 1:4-5) 

And, ‘You split the sea, So I could walk right through, My fears are drowned,’ obviously refers to the Lord’s parting of the Red Sea so the Israelites could cross over on dry land and escape the oncoming Egyptian army of Pharaoh. (Ex. 14) Then we sing: ‘He calls me the head and not the tail, Above and not beneath, a lender and not a borrower.’ That comes from Deut. 28-12-13), basically meaning that if we obey the Lord’s word, He will prosper us. 

And lastly, these words: ‘Your LOVE has called my name, I’ve been born again, Into your family, Your blood flows through my veins,’ can be seen in Jesus’ explanation to Nicodemus, the Jewish teacher who came to Him at night to find out the truth. ‘Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God… Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God,’ (John 3:3, 5) 

Oh friends, we are born again, that means we’re eligible for the kingdom of heaven! Glory Hallelujah! But unfortunately there are still many who have not been born again, and it is our job to get out there and do our best to see they become eligible for heaven. Much LOVE!

…the Father’s great desire is…that none should perish…but all should come to repentance… (2 Pet. 3:9)

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   21 August 2022   1 John 4:18.

21 Aug 2022 Leave a comment

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

1 John 4:18.        There is no fear in LOVE; but perfect LOVE casteth out fear: because fear hath (involves) torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in LOVE.

It’s Sunday once again my people! That means it’s gathering time. Gathering time to celebrate the Lord’s Day with praise and worship, with thanksgiving and joy in the fellowshipping of His people. Sunday is always such a great day, because it’s the day we get serious and come together to sing and dance before the Lord, with spiritual joy, like Bruh David did when he brought the ark of the Covenant home to Jerusalem. (smile) Yes friends, the Good Book tells us: ‘And David danced before the Lord with all his might, and David was girded with a linen ephod (an apron worn by the high priest in sacred Hebrew rites).’  (2 Sam. 6:14-22) 

And we’re going to open that singing and dancing today with a fairly new worship song, one written in this 21st century, and made popular by the American Gospel Artist, Tasha Cobbs. It’s aptly titled ‘ No longer a Slave to Fear.’  And that’s how we should definitely be thinking of and seeing ourselves. No longer enslaved by the enemy’s hold of sin and fear, but now, thankfully servants and children of God. So let’s raise our voices in sacrificial praise, in a soulful, mid-tempo version of the song. And please, please, let’s sing it like we really mean it nuh. 

In loud, harmonious voice, let’s open with the chorus a couple of times. ‘(Chorus: I’m no longer a slave to fear, For I am a child of God (2) You unravel me, with a melody, You surround me with a song, Of deliverance, from my enemies, Till all my fears are gone. (Chorus: I’m no longer, a slave to fear, For I am a child of God (2) From my mother’s womb, You have chosen me, Your LOVE has called my name, I’ve been born again, Into your family, Your blood flows through my veins. (Chorus: I’m no longer, a slave to fear, For I am, a child of God (2) 

Oh oh, oh oh oh. Oh oh, oh oh oh! You split the sea, So I could walk right through, My fears are drowned, In perfect LOVE, You rescued me, so I could stand and sing, I am a child of God …You split the sea, So I could walk right through it, My fears are drowned, In perfect LOVE, You rescued me, so I could stand and sing, I am a child of God, I am a child of God, I am a child of God…. I know who I am, I know who I am, I am a child of God! He calls me the head and not the tail, Above and not beneath, a lender and not a borrower. So I no longer walk in fear, but in faith. For I am a child of God. If you are a child of God, sing Hallelujah to His glorious name!’  

Oh my fellow believers, if in these perilous and fearful times we don’t know who we are, then we’re in real bad shape! For it’s only if you’re a child of God that you have any hope of a glorious future. As we’ve been saying the last couple of days, the essence of fear is raging all through our world. The powers that be are using fear to bring us to our knees so we can do their evil work. They are using every tactic associated with fear to try and trap us. But they don’t know that we are smarter than them, and we have a High Priest and Advocate named Jesus, who has given us a spirit of power, of LOVE and of a sound (disciplined) mind to counteract their spirit of fear. (2 Tim, 1:7) 

And Jesus clearly promised that in Acts 1:8, when He told the disciples: ‘But ye shall receive power, after that (when) the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.’ And we know that the Holy Ghost first came upon the believers on the Day of Pentecost, some fifty days after Jesus ascended to heaven, when they turned Jerusalem upside down with their message and acts of faith. Read all about it in Acts chapter 2. And since then, the Holy Spirit has been indwelling every believer with His power and drive and discipleship for Jesus, drastically cutting into the enemy’s hold over our lives! 

And throughout the song we see references to moments when fear was heavy upon God’s people, but He delivered them through His omnipotent power; with ‘songs of deliverance from their enemies.’ There are several psalms which attest to that, like in Psalm 125, where it’s declared: ‘As the mountains are round about (surround) Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about (surrounds) his people from henceforth even for ever. For the rod of the wicked (sceptre of wickedness) shall not rest upon the lot of (land allotted to) the righteous; lest the righteous put (reach) forth their hands into iniquity.’ (Ps. 125:2-3) 

And Psalm 126 faithfully declares: ‘The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. Turn again our captivity (bring back our captives), O Lord, as the streams in the south. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.’ (Ps. 126:3-5) Then the song alludes to one of the times of greatest fear of God’s people: ‘You split the sea, So I could walk right through, My fears are drowned…’ 

Yes friends that’s when the Israelites in their Exodus from Egypt were on the brink of the Red Sea with Pharaoh and His mighty Egyptian army right behind them. There seemed no way for them to escape, but in God’s might and faithfulness, He made a way, by splitting the sea so they could walk through on dry land, then drowned Pharoah and his army when they came after them. And you can read all about that in Exodus 14. 

But this is my favourite part: ‘In perfect LOVE, You rescued me, so I could stand and sing, I am a child of God…’ And what does the Good Book say about perfect LOVE? John says in his first epistle: ‘There is no fear in LOVE; but perfect LOVE casteth out fear: because fear hath (involves) torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in LOVE.’ (1 John 4:18) 

Now, the scholars explain ‘Fear hath torment,’ by saying: ‘Abject fear of God is based on dread of punishment. But God’s LOVE for us renders such dread obsolete. Fear is still a part of the Christian walk in the sense of profound reverence, the unwillingness to violate God’s trust in us. Believers need not fear eternal rejection as a result of God’s judgement (John 5:24), but this does not mean a Christian’s approach to God is to be flippant and casual.’ 

So there is no need to fear if we are sincere believers in Christ Jesus, but we must have sincere reverence for the Lord’s power, position and sovereignty over our lives and the entire universe He created. And since we now know who we are, children of God, above and not beneath, lenders and not borrowers, no longer walking in fear but in faith, let’s go home very appropriately singing ‘Hallelujah to God’s glorious name!’  Yes, shout it out my people: ‘Hallelujah to God’s glorious name!’ Much LOVE!

…nothing but faith in Christ Jesus…casts out fear… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8​    

Today’s Scrip-Bit 5 September 2021 Isaiah 41:10a.

05 Sep 2021 Leave a comment

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

Isaiah 41:10a.     Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God:

Sunday morning…time for worship…the last one we will have technologically at my church. Thank God! From next Sunday our church will be again opening its doors, so whosoever will, may come. Yes, many people have complained about missing the benefits of physical togetherness in worshipping under the same roof, but it’s still left to be seen how many will show up on opening day. We Christians talk a good talk, but we don’t walk our talk as well as we talk it. (smile) And with the Covid 19 virus still very active in our area, plus all the protests, fearmongering and disinformation being spread about it, some people will still be anxious, leery and somewhat fearful to attend physical church services. 

And under the circumstances, I don’t know if we can really blame them, but being sincere Christians, we ought to have some faith in the promises of our God when He tells us not to fear. As He said through the prophet Isaiah: ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.’ (Is. 41:10) But unfortunately, even in Jesus’ time, two of His favourite words to the disciples and the people, were ‘Fear not.’ And several times He accused them of little faith. 

We also know these famous words of His, when He promised the disciples the Holy Spirit after He went away. ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27) And a couple chapters later He uttered these awesome, reassuring words to the disciples. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) 

Now those were tough words for the mostly youthful and uneducated disciples to absorb. And even with our better understanding of the scriptures today, it’s also difficult for many of us to hang on to those reassuring words of Jesus. Thus, fear and anxiety are still a major part of our lives, especially with the enemy currently being in worldwide ascension. But fear not friends, (smile) today we will sing a song of worship that will help us to annul any fear or anxiety we might feel. It’s sung by that rising American gospel singer Tasha Cobbs, and it’s aptly titled: ‘No Longer a Slave to Fear.’ 

Wow! And isn’t that good news my people? It surely is! If we can break the bondage that fear has over us, then we are free and clear of the enemy; victorious over his evil deceptions and lies! So let’s sing it like we really mean it nuh. In full, soulful voice, letting the words rise sincerely up from deep within our hearts, all the way to heaven’s throne, showing our Saviour that we have matured, we now fully and faithfully believe His promises, and are no longer slaves to fear. 

‘(Chorus: I’m no longer a slave to fear, For I am a child of God (2) You unravel me, with a melody, You surround me with a song, Of deliverance, from my enemies, Till all my fears are gone. (Chorus: I’m no longer, a slave to fear, For I am a child of God (2) From my mother’s womb, You have chosen me, Your LOVE has called my name, I’ve been born again, Into your family, Your blood flows through my veins. (Chorus: I’m no longer, a slave to fear, For I am, a child of God (2) Oh oh, oh oh oh. Oh oh, oh oh oh! You split the sea, So I could walk right through, My fears are drowned, In perfect LOVE, You rescued me, so I could stand and sing, I am a child of God …

You split the sea, So I could walk right through it, My fears are drowned, In perfect LOVE, You rescued me, so I could stand and sing, I am a child of God, I am a child of God, I am a child of God…. I know who I am, I know who I am, I am a child of God! He calls me the head and not the tail, Above and not beneath, a lender and not a borrower. So I no longer walk in fear, but in faith. For I am a child of God. If you are a child of God, sing Hallelujah to His glorious name!’ Awright mih bredrin, let’s shout some ‘Hallelujahs’ to our wonderful heavenly Father, because we are indeed His ever-faithful and ever-LOVING children! Glory be! 

And the Lord’s certainly moving in mysterious ways in me these days yes, because as I listened to the song on You Tube, I was again led to scroll down to the commentaries, and there I found this wonderful testimony from a young lady named Sophia G, first posted about a year ago. Please read these heartfelt words with me. She says: ‘Recently I’m experiencing so much pain right now. I’m in high school and all of my “friends” have turned on me and starting to bully me basically. I don’t feel like I’m being bullied because I ask god to fill me up with his Holy Spirit and fruits of the spirits everyday. 

But I do get down because the enemy is trying so hard to let me loose faith in Jesus and to get me depressed. My friends don’t like me because I’m different and no matter how hard they try and get a reaction of negativity out of me I never do and never will. They see god inside me and they don’t like that. But I’ll praise god in the good and the bad no matter how much I get down and this sing just gets me going and for (full) fills me. I love God so much and he is probably letting me experience this for a lesson. But it’s hard and some days I get so down I want to give up completely. Please pray for me and for my friends also so they can get Jesus in their life also, thankyou💞😭’

Now doesn’t that just break your heart? But here is the wonderful part, she recently shared. ‘Hello guys!! It’s been 10 months since I posted this comment and I just want to say Thank you so much for all your love and support. I would have never have ever thought this comment would get so many people praying for me! And oh wow how I have changed. God has blessed me so much and your prayers have helped me more than you could imagine. My mental health was very very bad. I was very depressed I’m not gonna lie. Everyday was a battle for me and every night I would be sobbing myself to sleep. But the devil never wins. 

My faith with Jesus has grown. In this world ye shall have tribulation so much now. Now for me this year has been the happiest I’ve ever been.  Even though 2020 had been a very strange year I can say this has been the best year for me mentally in my whole life. I ended losing all my friends which made me quite sad but I realised how toxic they were for me. But now I have the best friends I could ever ask for. All my problems I was in has been erased from my life and I have forgiven everyone. I’m honestly so happy and thankful for you all. God is so good and even in the hardest times you feel like giving up he’s always by my side. 

This just shows how powerful God is and gods people💘💘 I love you all and I appreciate you very much. I still have a lot to learn and I want god to teach me more about life. It took me just less than a year for god to turn my life around but I’m more grateful than ever. I will never forget any of you xxxx.’ 

Mama Mia! And who says our God isn’t a great and powerful God eh? One who answers prayers! But we have to come to Him, to actively and consciously seek His face like that young lady in the testimony above, and allow Him to drive away the fear in our hearts and souls. That’s the only solution to our fear problem my people! Much LOVE!

…God hath not given us the spirit of fear…but of power…and of LOVE…and of a sound mind… (2 Tim. 1:7)                                                                                             

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8          

Today​’s Scrip-Bit 17 March 2019 Philippians 2:9.

17 Mar 2019 Leave a comment

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

Philippians 2:9.    Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.

Sunday, O Sunday! Wherefore art thou O Sunday! Thou art the Sabbath: the day of rest, the day of fellowship, praise and thanksgiving, of souls being refuelled with LOVE, confidence and assurance in the promises of the One True God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! What a blessed day you are Sunday, O Sunday! (smile) 

And since we’ve said all that friends, we’ve got to make it come true by going to the Lord’s sanctuary to renew our vows of faith and trust and receive His blessing so that we can keep that faith and trust alive and well for at least another week, before returning to His sanctuary for refuelling. Ah friends, it sure is a steady cycle, but we need it, if we are to keep our faith in Jehovah God strong. 

But enough talk! Right now I want to sing! And today’s song is a thrilling anthem to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! We sung it before on the Bit, but it just rose up in me this week, calling out to be sung once again! (smile)  It’s a gospel song written by one Will Reagan, and I listened to two powerful, moving versions on You Tube; one by Tasha Cobbs and another by Jesus Culture Lyrics. It’s titled ‘There is Power in the Name of Jesus,’ or ‘Break Every Chain.’ 

I’ve taken the liberty to add a couple of extra lines from each version, as well as a li’l touch of my own. I’m sure the original songwriter will also be overjoyed to hear our version this morning. So without further ado, let’s tell the unbelieving world the way it is, as we raise our voices in sweet harmonious gospel song. 

‘O There is power in the name of Jesus There is power in the name of Jesus There is power in the name of Jesus To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain (Repeat) There’s an army rising up There’s an army rising up There’s an army rising up To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain. 

All sufficient sacrifice, freely given, such a price. On our redemption Heaven’s gates swing wide, That’s why we believe that There is power in the name of Jesus There is power in the name of Jesus There is power in the name of Jesus To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain. We believe that there is power, power, wonder-working power in the name of Jesus. 

And that’s why There’s an army rising up There’s an army rising up There’s an army rising up To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain! Oh He’s our Jesus, Jesus – the Mighty Conqueror! That’s why we hear the chains falling, the chains are falling! 

Shout it out! I hear the chains falling I hear the chains falling!  I feel the freedom, freedom from the bondage of sin! Yes! He has set us free, because there is power in the name of Jesus, power in the name of Jesus, power to break every chain, break every chain, break every chain…’ 

Mama Mia! What wonderful singing my faithful brethren! All Heaven was held spellbound by it! A big, proud grin split the Father’s face, as He nodded in approval, raised His closed right fist and said a hearty ‘Yeah!’ Meanwhile, Jesus sat quietly nearby and smiled His shy, boyish smile at the enormous amount of praise we were lavishing on Him. But that shouldn’t surprise us, because He’s always shied away from taking any praise for Himself, diverting it all to the Father. 

And that’s exactly why the Father, in exceedingly great appreciation for His selfless sacrifice and obedience here on earth did what He did: ‘Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Eph.2:9-11) 

Oh friends, how could that kind of exaltation not add tremendous power to the name of Jesus eh…to be able to break chains, set us free from the bondage of sin and save our lost souls! And today all I want to do is look at a couple of scriptures which also lift up the name of Jesus. But before we do that listen to this story about me and that song. 

Early one Sunday morning last year, I was on my way home from having an MRI of some part of my body, don’t remember which one, I’ve had so many done over the last few years, but the Tasha Cobbs version was playing on the Gospel Music Machine Radio Show broadcasting from the University of Toronto Radio Station. There was little traffic on the three-lane road, but I got in the right lane, who knows why, but me and Tasha were singing up a storm as we went along. 

All of a sudden I heard a loud bang and the car veered off to the left! And was I ever surprised at those unexpected actions. On checking, I discovered that the right lane I was driving in, ended at the traffic light I’d just gone through, and I’d rammed the right wheel of the car against the curb, as there were now only two lanes. Thankfully there was no damage to the car or myself. But that just goes to show the power of Jesus’ name; it can get you so carried away, that you lose your mental perspective! (smile)  

Now let’s check out some scriptures like I promised. Hear the angel of the Lord to Joseph on the birth of Jesus. ‘And she (Mary) shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus (Saviour): for he shall save his people from their sins.’ (Matt.1:21) And John says: ‘But as many as received him (Jesus), to them gave he power (the right) to become the sons (children) of God, even to them that believe on his name.’ (John 1:12) 

Yes friends, yuh see the kind of power in Jesus’ name! Believe on it and you become the child of God! Wow! Why then are so many people refusing to believe in Him eh? And we’ll give the last word to Peter when he appeared before the high priest. Filled with the Holy Ghost, he proudly proclaimed: ‘Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’ (Acts 4:12) That says it all my people! 

As the scholars explain: ‘4:12. The name of Jesus Christ is the centre of contention (vs.7, 10, 12) and ever will be. Salvation for Jew and Gentile alike is exclusively through the name of Jesus Christ (cf. John 14:6).’ And that’s all there is to the argument! So let’s be wise and get on the good foot with Jesus nuh! (smile)  It’s the only option that makes any sense! Much LOVE!

…I am the Way…the Truth…and the Life…no man comes to the Father…but by ME…  (John 14:6) 

P.S. Yes, it li’l bit long and late, but fellowshipping after church kept me back, and shortening it would have lost the special flavour. And if yuh can’t spend a li’l extra time on Jesus’ Word on a Sabbath Sunday…in Lent to boot, then why bother to spend any at all eh? (smile ) Much LOVE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 
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Today’s Scrip-Bit 31 May 2016 Matthew 5:16.‏

31 May 2016 Leave a comment

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

 Matthew 5:16.   Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Oh friends, oh friends, it’s another beautiful Tuesday on God’s earthly heaven! Glory be to our heavenly Father! It means we’ve been granted another day with God’s breath of life still flowing rich and strong through our physical bodies! 

And for that we ought to be most thankful, be ever grateful for all that He’s done for us in the past, is doing for us right now, and has faithfully promised to fulfill in the future. Now that also ought to lead us to offering some sincere thanks and praise to His most holy and honourable name. 

And the best way to give thanks and praise, to offer sincere gratitude and gratefulness is in joyful song. So let’s sing praises and give thanks to our Creator and Provider! Let’s shout out this powerful gospel song that I recently heard. Heard it a few times on different radio stations too. 

The singer is blessed with the name Tasha Cobbs, and I believe she was in Toronto last weekend for a live concert. The song is appropriately titled, ‘Power in the name of Jesus.’ 

Please sing it with me. ‘There is power in the name of Jesus. There is power in the name of Jesus. Yes there is power in the name of Jesus…. To break every chain… Break every chain…Break every chain. 

There’s an army rising up. There’s and army rising up. There’s an army rising up…To break every chain…Break every chain…Break every chain. 

There is power in the name of Jesus. There is power in the name of Jesus. Oh there is power in the name of Jesus…To break every chain…Break every chain…Break every chain…’ 

Now friends, I’m doing this from memory, but I’m pretty sure that’s how the song goes. In any case, that’s our version. (smile) 

And oh yes my fellow believers, there is indeed power…and awesome power at that, in the holy and majestic name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! A power so absolute and strong that it’s able to break any chain that binds us, any chain that holds us captive to the evil tendencies of this evil world! Glory Hallelujah! 

So please, let’s never forget that remarkable power and use it to break whatever is binding us to the things of this world. And now, since it’s Tuesday, let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra with much sincerity and sense of purpose. 

All together 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 my people, whenever we declare that mantra, I just feel real uplifted in my spirit. Why? I’m not sure. But I guess it’s because it defines me in the best way possible: the beloved of God and a friend of Jesus! 

Now there could never be a better definition of who we are than that…And better still, NO ONE can take it from us! Oh glory to our great God my believing brethren! 

That brings us to our Bit; the avid desire and command of our Leader, Jesus Christ. ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ 

Unfortunately though my people, that is one command we don’t seem to be following too well because instead of coming to Christ, people are walking away from Him in droves. That’s definitely not good my fellow believers, because it means we’re not doing our part to assure the success of Christ’s LOVE Revolution. 

Through fear and pressure from the evil world, we are allowing our spirits to fall into a sad state of disrepair; a malaise of enormous proportions seems to have taken over the Christian brotherhood, where we don’t fight as much and as hard as we used to do for our beliefs. 

That’s not right my brethren. We are supposed to be soldiers in Christ’s army, and soldiers are supposed to fight; to fight tooth and nail for what they believe in! 

What’s happening with us eh? Don’t we believe anymore? Or are we just comfortable and contented and want to enjoy the things of the world? Or are we simply so scared of Lucifer and His evil minions that we refuse to fight for what we say we believe in? 

I don’t have the answers nuh friends. But I do know that we’re definitely not letting our light shine sufficiently before our fellow men, they’re not seeing enough of our good works, and thus are not glorifying our heavenly Father the way that He desires. 

And we’ll end with an appropriate call from Bruh David from Psalm 22 – A cry of anguish and song of praise. ‘Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed (descendants) of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him (hold Him in awesome reverence), all ye the seed of Israel. 

For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.’ (Ps.22:23-24) 

Ah mih people, let’s try and do better than we doing nuh! Let’s look deep inside and see where we are falling down, then with all sincerity and truth call upon the Lord to help us. As Bruh David says, He will hear and help us. Much LOVE!

…Christ’s earthly army needs a boost…probably a good, swift kick in the tail…to get us going like we ought…