25 May 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a deceitful world, against their parents, all for Jesus, all we do, association with Jesus, be thankful, be wise as serpents, Behold, beware of men, Bombay Bhel Indian Restaurant, brother, celebrate, children shall rise up, close to home, deliver you, discrimination, dring, eat, endureth to the end, exploded a bomb, fellowship, foolish reason, for a testimony, for my name's sake, for my sake, four days of labour, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's kingdom, get a break, get into our souls, Glory be, good weather, harmless, hated of all men, identification with Jesus, in Jesus name, in that same hour, innocent as doves, innocent people, it burn him, like leggo beasts, live in fear, LOVE, Lucifer, lustful song, lustily singing, mind body and soul, Mississauga, never leave nor forsake, no manly parts, not enough boundaries, not wine and roses, party, pay for that holiday, persecution, persevere, projectiles, promise of perseverance, ps and qs, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, scourge you, send you forth, shall be saved, sheep in the midst of wolves, take no thought, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the father the child, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of your Father, the weekend, the workingman, to death, to the end, too much leeway, unfair massa, video surveillance, week of work, what you speak, wolfish world, your generous help
Matthew 10:16. Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless (innocent) as doves.
Beautiful! Beautiful! Beautiful! That’s the only way I can describe yesterday friends. It was more of a summer than a spring day, with the heat from the sun radiating somewhere in the mid-twenties, suitably accompanied by a cool, brisk breeze. And today seems like it’s going to be more of the same. Glory be!
Oh I know you folks who live in the tropics are accustomed to that kind of weather all the time, but we poor northerners have to be thankful and celebrate when we get it, especially after the strange winter weather we’ve just had. (smile)
But unfortunately all is not wine and roses, for it seems that two misguided men went into a Bombay Bhel Indian Restaurant in my city of Mississauga last night around 10.30 p.m and exploded a crude bomb of projectiles injuring about 15 people, some of them critically. Ah Lord eh! They were obviously well covered from head to foot, so that the video surveillance couldn’t detect them.
Obviously they had no manly parts, injuring innocent people for whatever foolish reason. I don’t know exactly where this particular restaurant of the chain is located, but it certainly doesn’t feel good when these sorts of things begin happening close to home. We can’t allow those fools to have us live in fear though, so let’s keep on going with God and hope the powers that be catch them soon.
Now it’s Friday and the workingman is out there lustily singing his lustful song. (smile) ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! And it come quickly this week because was only four days of labour for that greedy and unfair massa. And I know how it burn him to pay us for that holiday, but we do get a break here and there.
But enough about massa, is the weekend and we time, so let’s get on with enjoying it nuh. And the good weather is providing so many more options for doing that. So eat, drink and party like leggo beasts’ mih people! For who knows whether you’ll be around tomorrow! Hn, Hn! Thank God for Fridays and the weekends yes!’
So what do we believers have to say to that eh? Too much leeway, not enough boundaries! It’s only allowing Lucifer to get into our souls and destroy them. And we counter with our Friday Chant: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yeh friends, we always have to be on our p’s and q’s when we live and work for Jesus because there is nothing the enemy likes more than to get into our souls and spoil our witness. That brings us to our Bit, a strange but interesting pronouncement of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to His disciples. ‘Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless (innocent) as doves.’
Oh my brethren, to be wise but innocent is not an easy task to accomplish in this evil, very wolfish world! But if Jesus says to do it, then it must be doable and He will give us the wherewithal to do it.
But Jesus does warn: ‘But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against (to) them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up take no thought how or what (do not worry about) what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.’ (Matt.10:17-22)
Yes faithful believers, we’re living in a very deceitful world and thus need to be very careful of whom we pick as our associates. Now here are some explanations from the scholars. ‘10:17-22. Take no thought means “Do not be anxious.” (See Mark 13:9-13; Luke 12:11-12; 21:12-19) It shall be given you promises that the inner prompting of the Holy Spirit would tell them what to say in each situation they would face.
For my name’s sake: They would endure great persecution because of their identification with Jesus Christ. But he that endureth to the end shall be saved is a promise of perseverance, not a teaching that salvation may be lost. Rather, it indicates that those who are truly saved will indeed endure to the end.’
There we have it friends: We will face persecution and discrimination because of our association with Jesus. But we need not worry about what to say or do, because the Holy Spirit that dwells within us will advise us. And we just need to hang in, to truly believe, to persevere in His name right to the end.
Remember, Jesus has promised never to leave nor forsake us once we stay true to Him, and if we believe, we’ll grab hold of that promise so tightly we’ll never loose it. Much LOVE!
…all we do…must be all for Jesus…
18 May 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a thief in the night, a thousand shall fall, adversity, barriers, be prepared, boundaries, damnation, drinking, eating, faith, followers of Jesus, for our good, Friday chant, full steam ahead, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, He is my refuge, hellfire, I will say of the Lord, in him will I trust, in his essence, in Jesus name, in perspective, Jesus is coming back, lustful flesh, my fortress, my god, on the outside looking in, on top of stuff, open arms, our earthly purpose, Our god, our wits about us, pestilence, pilgrim, plugged nickel, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, save us, security, sense of purpose, surrender, take refuge, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, thanks and praise, the reward of the wicked, the weekend, the works of Jesus, thy shield, to the max, toehold, too late, trust, truth, under his wings, walk in darkness, week of work, whatever catches your fancy, wisdom, workingman
Psalm 91:2. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Aye friends, sorry the Bit’s somewhat late, but the ole fella’s definitely not in great shape this morning. I got up late and not feeling too hot either. But here we are, with the help of the Good Lord journeying on like a good pilgrim (smile).
And it’s Friday, so you know the workingman is in his essence, shouting out loud to all and sundry: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday at last! The weekend…the weekend…it here finally! So let the party begin; eating and drinking and whatever catches your fancy! Massa had he time all week; is our time now, so live it up to the max! Thank God for Friday and weekends yes, otherwise our lives wouldn’t be worth the proverbial plugged nickel!’
And wouldn’t the enemy like us to take that advice. Just to let it all hang out and do whatever our lustful flesh dictates. Hn! But as followers of Jesus, we’re smarter than that. We know that we need to keep everything in perspective and don’t go overboard on anything, because that would just be inviting the enemy to enter our lives and get some kind of toehold.
So we’ve set up boundaries and barriers to enable us to stay within the protected areas. That’s why our Friday Chant is not as explosive as the workingman’s song. Let’s declare it now nuh, with sincere enthusiasm and a strong sense of purpose.
‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen!’
Yeh friends, as believers, we need to keep ourselves in good functioning mode, keep on top of stuff, so that we can work the works of Jesus at a moment’s notice. We do need to be refreshed and renewed, but never to lose sight of our earthly purpose.
And to help us do that, here is this refreshing and reassuring verse of scripture enshrined as Today’s Bit. ‘I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.’
Oh friends, oh friends, what a position of trust, faith and total surrender! It’s the best decision we can make in this life as per our security! Listen as the psalmist continues the security features of God’s network.
‘He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust (take refuge): his truth shall be thy shield and buckler (small shield). Thou shalt not be afraid for (of) the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Not for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth (lays waste) at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come night thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.’ (Ps.91:4-8)
Yeh mih people, that’s the kind of security that our God provides. Now that doesn’t mean we will never see any kind of adversity, absolutely not! But it does mean that we will not live this live as fearful namby-pambys, and whenever adversity comes, we will be able to bear up under it with the Lord’s help, because He has faithfully promised to work everything out eventually for our good.
And that’s the reassurance we have in His awesome word. No other faith or religion even promises anything like that, much less are able to deliver it like the Lord can. Give glory to His precious and holy name my people! For He is the one who made us, who saved us, and still LOVES us despite our undeserving nature!
What a mighty God we serve and worship! Give Him thanks and praise all day long, for what He’s done, is doing, and has faithfully promised to do for us in the future! How can we not sincerely LOVE and adore Him eh people? I can’t understand why we are trying so hard to get Him out of our lives and our society when He is the ONLY ONE who can save us from hellfire and damnation.
If we had our wits about us, we’d be running instead full steam ahead to His open, waiting LOVING arms, because He is indeed our fortress, our refuge and our God!
Oh my brethren, let’s wake up and smell whatever we need to smell before it’s too late nuh! Jesus is coming back some time soon, when, we’re not sure, but like a thief in the night He can come at any time. And the sad part is that when He comes, all bets are over. There will be no more time for changing our minds and we’ll just end up unfortunately on the outside looking in.
And I’ve said it often enough, that will be the worst place for a human to be, come the time of Jesus. So let’s get wise and be prepared nuh, that we will be ready for whenever He comes, even if it’s today. That’s wisdom at its greatest height. Much LOVE!
…the only thing that really matters…we’re prepared when Jesus comes…
11 May 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious day, abase, able to humble, be merry, be required of thee, be righteous, birds' claws, break off thy sins, covetous, Daniel, delivers from death, drink, drinks, driven from men, eagles' feathers, eat, eat grass, extol, extremes, fellowship, food, fool, foothold, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, give an inch, God's great earth, gorgeous weather, gospel truth, greedy, his ways justice, honour, humiliation, in Jesus name, indisputable truth, iniquities, LOVE, much goods, Nebuchadnezzar, not rich toward God, on the outside looking in, one helluva weekend, party scene, praise, profit nothing, recovery state, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, righteousness, shark0like lawyers, showing mercy, spring weather, stronghold, take a nail, take thine ease, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the dew of heaven, the King of heaven, the weekend, the workingman, thy soul, tighter guidelines, toehold, tranquility, treasures, walk in pride, week of work, wickedness, works are truth
Proverbs 10:2. Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.
Welcome to another glorious day on God’s great earth friends! Wow! They are happening so fast and furious that I don’t know what to do with them, especially in my recovery state. I certainly can’t go out and about as I’d like to, so I just have to enjoy them in and around my li’l area. And by the way, yesterday did turn out to be bright and sunshiny too, just a bit of a strong breeze in the afternoon.
And this beautiful spring weather is just falling right into the lap of the workingman this Friday morning, as he sings his song: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes! The weekend is here at last mih people! And can you imagine the gorgeous weather, what that will do for our party scene? Brother! I can’t wait to get into the food and drinks and whatever else there is to get into! (smile) This will surely be one helluva weekend! Thank God for Fridays and weekends oui!’
And believe you me, not only the workingman is glad to see this glorious weather, we believers are equally as glad to see it, we just don’t plan on going to the extremes that he does – at least I hope so. (smile) And as we know, the major difference in our positions is one of extremes. We have tighter guidelines per Jesus’ standards than the workingman. And our Friday Chant certainly reflects it. So let’s chant up a storm now nuh:
‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yeh friends, as believers and followers of Christ, we’re not allowed to get into the licentious behaviour that the workingman values. We have to keep our wits about us and prepare to go back out next week to work diligently for Christ again.
Now that doesn’t mean we can’t or don’t have enjoyment. It just means that we don’t go overboard with it and allow the enemy even a toehold in our souls, for then he’ll take a foothold and before you know it he’s developed a stronghold in our lives. As the old people would say, ‘you give him an inch, he’ll take a nail.’ And that’s the gospel truth! Haven’t heard that one in along while (smile)
That brings us to an interesting Bit. The wise words of Cousin Sol. ‘Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.’ More indisputable truth friends!
Stuff acquired through wickedness doesn’t give us any real benefit. We might be able to enjoy some of it down here, but in the long run, we’ll surely be left out of the kingdom of heaven. And as I keep saying, there’s no situation worse for a human being than to be left on the outside looking in when Jesus comes again.
However, when we aspire to be righteous, we’re assured of eternal life with Christ, the most blessed situation there is in all the world. Glory to God my people!
And we have a couple of examples to share. Listen to Jesus, as He tells the parable of the rich fool. This fellow had so much earthly possessions that he didn’t have space to store them. And his solution to the problem: ‘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.’ (Luke 12:19)
Oh friends, that’s how too many of us behave! We consider the treasures of the world more important than they really are, and run behind them too much. But look what happens to this rich fool. ‘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?’ (Luke 12:20)
Ah mih people, that happens all the time. We store up much earthly treasure, then we die and leave those behind to fight over them, and the shark-like lawyers end up getting most of it. Does that make sense? Certainly not! And what is Jesus’ solution to that problem? ‘So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’ (Luke 12:21) Yeh friends, believers cannot be covetous and greedy, for our lives aren’t only about possessions.
Now here is an example from the other side of the coin. Remember when King Nebuchadnezzar had this dream and Daniel eventually interpreted it for him? Hear Daniel’s advice: ‘Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness (being righteous), and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening (prolonging) of thy tranquility).’ (Dan.4:27)
But yuh think king Neb listened to Daniel? No way! Twelve months later while walking in the palace and admiring all that he had done, patting himself grandly on the back, the edict from heaven came down, and immediately, ‘he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like the birds’ claws.’ (Dan.4:33)
Yeh mih breddren, for seven years king Neb was a mad man! But our God is so great and merciful, that He eventually restored Neb to sanity. And finally Neb got it, as he declared: ‘Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the king of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgement (justice): and those that walk in pride he is able to abase (humble).’ (Dan.4:37)
Friends, please, let’s not forget who and whose we are, and take no great credit for our doings, because if we do, we will eventually suffer the ultimate in humiliation. Much LOVE!
…living right is the only sensible way to live…
04 May 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a heart of flesh, a new spirit, acknowledges, adore, anger, as of fire, Bathsheba, better than the mighty, boundaries, cloven tongues, compassion, create in me a clean heart, enjoy yourself, evil purposes, exalt, Ezekiel, fellowship, filled with the Holy Ghost, Friday chant, full recovery, fun, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, hate, heirs, holy spirit, Holy Trinity, in Jesus name, it's later than you think, judgements, keep mine ordinances, lead and guide, licentious, life, LOVE, lustful, magnanimous god, Mosaic covenant, one heart, only son, our earthly journey, our favour, out on the limb, party, patience, Pentecost, perseverance, relaxation, renew a right spirit, renewed and refreshed, rest, revere, ruleth his spirit, sacrificed Jesus christ, sat upon each of them, sinners, sins, slow to anger, soul body and mind, surgery, take the stony heart, take time, taketh a city, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the enemy, the Spirit of Jesus, the spirit's guidance, the workingman, toehold, walk in my statutes, we time now, week of work, worker bee
Ezekiel 11:19. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you (them); and I will take the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh.
Wow friends, it’s Friday already! A week since I had the surgery, and hopefully I’m on my way to a full recovery. But it’s going to take time. And isn’t it strange how time seems to go by quickly when you don’t want it to, and slowly when you want it to go by quickly.
Hn! I guess you’d call that life. But anyway, there’s not much we can do about it, but hope that it comes up in our favour and we have the patience and perseverance to bear how ever long time takes. (smile)
Anyway, sorry about that break, a friend came to visit and we had a nice long chat. Thanks for the visit Mabel. And regardless of what I might have to say, the workingman is still going to sing his song:
‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! Oh people, oh people, the weekend here! Is we time now. No more work…just party and enjoy we selves… and doh care who doh like it. Heh, heh, heh! Enjoy yourself…Enjoy yourself…it’s later than you think…and yuh better believe it! Time not waiting on you. Thank God for Fridays and weekends yes!’
Ah friends, as usual, the workingman does have some good points, but he just goes a tad too far out on the limb. We believers are not allowed, or rather supposed to go that far out. We have boundaries that serve to keep the enemy from getting even a toehold in our affairs. That’s why our Friday Chant is so different from the workingman’s song. So with just as much, if not more enthusiasm, let’s chant it now nuh.
‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Ah mih breddren, as faithful followers of Jesus, our lot is to stay within the boundaries that Jesus set. Enjoy ourselves, but don’t get too lustful and licentious. Don’t allow our flesh to control us, but rather let the Spirit of Jesus lead and guide our earthly journey.
Oh my people, from way back when, the Lord promised that Holy Spirit. Listen to Him through Ezekiel from our Bit.‘And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you (them); and I will take the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh.’
Why, you wonder? ‘That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances (judgements), and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.’ (Ezek.11:20) And as always friends, the Lord kept His promise on that first day of Pentecost.
As the Good Book tells it: On that faithful day, the apostles were all sitting together, ‘And there appeared unto them cloven (divided) tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.’ (Acts 2:3-4)
What a faithful and awesome God we serve people! One who keeps His promises though we may have to wait on His timing for them. Under the Mosaic covenant, the Holy Spirit would fall upon individual people at certain times, and act in an external manner, but after Jesus ascended back to heaven, the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity, then was sent to dwell in the hearts and souls of each and every believer.
The Lord took away our hearts of stone and gave us hearts of soft, pliable and malleable flesh, hearts filled with His LOVE and compassion, rather than the enemy’s hate, anger and evil purposes. Glory to our great and wonderful God my brethren! Such an awesome and ever-LOVING Deity who while we were yet sinners, sacrificed His Only Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for our abominable sins, so that we could be made sons, heirs to His kingdom.
Mama Mia! How could we not LOVE and revere, and adore and exalt Him eh? We’d have to be the most ungrateful and selfish of creatures. And unfortunately there are way too many of us like that. And I’m not going to get into all the works and actions of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we all know them, or should by now.
I’m just going to end with two pieces of Old Testament scripture that are still very relevant to our modern day lives. The first is a warning from Cousin Sol: ‘He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.’ (Prov.16:32)
That means, controlling ourselves is of enormous importance, and although the Holy Spirit is there to lead and guide us, we still have to make the decision to listen to the Spirit’s guidance and accede to His wishes. And we’ll end with this beautiful bit of heart-felt scripture from Bruh David, after he acknowledges his sin with Bathsheba.
‘Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right (steadfast) spirit within me.’ (Ps.51:10) Yeh friends, our magnanimous God will NEVER turn down a sincere, heartfelt plea like that. So when we feel things aren’t right with us, don’t be afraid to call out to Him for help. He’s always available to help us. Much LOVE!
…the worker bee of the Holy Trinity…Holy Spirit…
20 Apr 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a jealous God, amenities, artifacts, break through, Christians, complexities of life, contented, corrupt, crooks, earthly wealth, eat drink and be merry, fellowship, first commandment, flooding, forever, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, glory hallelujah, have no gods before me, heaven, hurrying, ice, ice storm, in Jesus name, in their element, Jesus Christ, lay not up, leggo beast, make a living, money, moth, nansi story, our Lord and Saviour, politicians, Property Tax, rain, relaxation, rest, ruin, rust, rust proof, soon be spring, steal, still cold, surrying, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the bottom line, theft proof, thieves, tomorrow we die, treasures in heaven, treasures upon earth, true believers, two tongued, walking over, Ward councilor, week of work, weekend, wisdom, with their lot, work like crazy, workingman's song
Matthew 6:19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal.
Oh friends, it’s bright and sunshiny in my neighbourhood today! Yay! Both the Sun and the SON are in their element! Glory Hallelujah! But it’s still cold, and the ice still remains frozen on the ground and at the curbs.
Oh, and I received some info from my Ward Councilor yesterday explaining why the roads were not cleaned after the recent ice storm. Some nansi story about it was ice and not snow and ice is harder to clean, and then it rained and clearing it would have caused more flooding etc. Hn!
But the bottom line is that the city’s snow clearing contract ends at the end of March and keeping it going until April would cost some four hundred thousand dollars a week, which would eventually be added to our Property Tax Bill. So who cares eh? People want to be able to walk and drive safely after those storms! The Property Tax Bill is still going up every year regardless.
At least this way we would have some idea as to what the increase is being used for. And besides, she concludes, spring will soon be here anyway. So people have to carefully navigate the dangerous ice that has accumulated on the curbs and the banks until when ever it gets warm enough to melt it? Steups! Politicians eh! Two–tongued crooks!
But yuh know what? It’s Friday, and the workingman isn’t concerned about that now, as he sings his song. ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! The weekend…Freedom time…though is only two lousy days off! But any time off from slave labour is gladly appreciated. Our time to eat, drink and be merry! For who knows, tomorrow we may die, so let’s enjoy it to the max nuh, while we have the ability to do so. Thank God for Fridays and the weekends yes!’
Ah mih breddren, the complexities of this modern life eh! Life was so much simpler and clearer when we didn’t have as much as we now have, and overall I believe people were happier, at least more contented with their lot. They weren’t as worried and perplexed. But now, we’re just hurrying and scurrying, walking over each other to make a living that’s not much better in quality than what our parents enjoyed.
Oh we have more amenities, but we have to spend more time servicing those same amenities, and work like crazy to pay for them, thus the complaints in the workingman’s song. However, as Christians, true believers in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we have a different take on the situation as stated in our Friday Chant. Let’s declare it now nuh with much zeal and strong sense of purpose.
‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yeh friends, believers don’t go overboard, we have boundaries which prevent the enemy from getting any footholds in our souls and thus wreaking havoc in our relationship with Christ. I know it’s hard sometimes to hold back from the leggo beast attitude, but hold back we must, if we are to be good and true representatives of Christ. In the long run though, it will pay enormous dividends. If not down here on earth, then certainly in heaven.
We therefore need to be more heavenly minded or centred than we currently are. That’s why we need to take serious heed of Jesus’ warning in our Bit. ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal.’ Such wonderful advice from the Master!
However, to be wise and faithful servants, Jesus advises: ‘But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves do not break through and steal.’ (Matt.6:20) Yeah mih people, treasures in heaven are theft proof, rust proof and moth proof.
So where will you rather secure your treasures then, down here on earth, where you can lose them or they be destroyed through natural wear and tear, and you have to leave them behind when you die anyway, or in heaven where they are completely safe? The obvious answer would be heaven.
Please note though friends, that there is nothing bad about having or gaining earthly wealth and power, Jesus will indeed grant them to us if it’s in His plan for our lives. The problem is when we begin treating the earthly stuff as our god, when it becomes more important than the real, One True God, our heavenly Father.
And anytime we allow someone or something to become more important to us than God, then we’re in serious trouble. For remember our God is a jealous God, as He so blatantly states in Exodus 20:5. ‘For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God…’ And His very FIRST Commandment reflected that in spades: ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’(Ex.20:3)
So friends, it’s all well and good to live a good life down here on earth, because that’s part of the reason why Christ died for us. But we have to realize and recognize that God must come before everyone and everything else. And to do that without too many problems, we have to do it consciously, for as Jesus so rightly warns: ‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Matt.6:21)
And that’s no lie my people! Just check your own life. Don’t you think about your earthly treasure a lot, whether it be money in the bank or costly artifacts you have already accumulated, or are in the process of accumulating? We certainly do! But today I’m imploring us not to make them more important than our heavenly Father, for we’ll certainly be on the losing end if we do. Much LOVE!
…true wisdom…live a full life on earth…but think a whole lot more about heaven…which will last much longer…like forever…
28 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fountain, a well, be ashamed, blessed, blessed lifestyle, burning desire, dialled in, directions, empty, enthusiasm, eternal life, exalted, fear, fellowship, filled, filled the hungry, Friday chant, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, godly living, good things, grief, howl, hunger, hunger and thirst after righteousness, hungry, in fine shape, in Jesus' name, joy of heart, living water, LOVE each other, Love God, Mary, mercy, negative approach, onerous, party, passion, punishment, put down, rebellious, refreshed, regulations, rejoice, relaxation, renewed, rest, righteous life, righteousness, sadly lacking, salvation, scattered the proud, sent away, servants, sing, song of Joy, sorrow of heart, soul body and mind, spiritual food, stringent rules, Thank God is Friday, the BIBLE, the church, the gift of God, the Holy Spirit, the imagination of their hearts, the lowly, the Magnificat, the rich, the righteousness of God, the Samaritan woman, the weekend, they shall be filled, thirst, thirstym, vexation, wail, wasting away, week of work, zeal
Matthew 5:6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Well ah hear them coming down the road singing: ‘This is Friday, yes is Friday…And we going to party some of the weekend away. We going to fellowship some too. And get in a li’l rest too, so we can be fit and ready for the new workweek on Monday. Thank God is Friday oui! Thank God for Fridays and the weekends!’
Well what could I say to that eh friends? Nothing much, for they had me beat, including all the necessary things for a successful weekend in their li’l ditty. Now, if that only was the modus operandi of the majority of us, then we’d be in fine shape come Monday.
But unfortunately many of us still cling to the negative approach of simply wasting away the weekend in debauchery and riotous living. Thus still making it necessary for us to chant our Friday Chant seeking a different and much better perspective.
As one now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Ah mih people, how we waste our earthly lives by not following God’s word found in His Holy Book, the Bible, where He sets out the rules for godly living. And the sad part is that it’s not onerous at all. There are two basic rules; LOVE God, and LOVE each other.
But sadly, too many of us have trouble following those simple directions. I guess they’re just too simple. We seem to need stringent rules and regulations spelled out to the letter; like don’t do this, and don’t do that. We can’t seem to break down the big, general directions for ourselves.
Oh, if only we could be dialled in sincerely to our Bit: ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.’
Yeh my people, if only we could be hungry and thirsty for the righteousness of God, rather than the unrighteousness of this sinful and evil world! What a wonderful world it would truly be!
But the truth is that we can’t give up, those of us who feel that way, must continue fighting, continue hoping that by living the righteous life, others will see what a blessed lifestyle it is, and desire to join us. That’s why we’re still down here on earth yuh know; to show others the right way and help them come to Jesus for salvation and eternal life.
Now let’s check out some scripture on the subject. Yesterday we saw the Lord offering free spiritual food through Isaiah, to all and sundry. Listen to Jesus now, as He talks to the Samaritan woman at the well.
When He asked her for a drink of water, she was most surprised because the Samaritans and the Jews did not have good relations. But Jesus kindly told her. ‘If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have giving thee living water.’ (John 4:10)
The living water there refers to the Holy Spirit. Yes friends, when we turn to Jesus for drink for our soul, He generously offers us the Holy Spirit. And later on, when the woman was perplexed by Jesus’ argument, He told her.
‘Whosoever drinketh of this water (from the well) shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well (a fountain) of water springing up into eternal life.’ (John 4:13-14)
Ah mih people, what a wonderful promise! And though she did not fully comprehend Jesus’ words, the woman was smart enough to realize that Jesus was offering something very valuable and very desirable.
Unfortunately though, today way too many of us refuse to have anything to do with Jesus, and even those of us who do claim to be involved with Him, our passion and enthusiasm for His way of life is sadly lacking.
We don’t have the true zeal, the burning desire to emulate Him, otherwise His body here on earth, the church, would not be as lacklustre and waning in importance as it is. Now listen to Isaiah as he talks about the punishment of the rebellious.
‘Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed: Behold my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl (wail) for vexation (grief) of spirit.’ (Is.65:12-13)
Yes my brethren, that’s what we have to look forward to when we seek for and honour the righteousness of God!
And we’ll end with a couple of verses from ‘The Magnificat,’ Mary’s song of joy to the Lord when He anointed her to bear His Son, Jesus Christ. She solemnly declares: ‘And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
He hath showed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats (thrones), and exalted them of low degree (the lowly). He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent away empty.’ (Luke 1:50-53)
Oh my precious people, please understand that only by hungering and thirsting for the righteousness of God in this calamitous world, can we ever be filled with the true living water of Christ. Much LOVE!
…the living water of Christ…is free to all those who sincerely receive Him…as their Lord and Saviour…
06 Nov 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a balanced schedule, approve things that are excellent, balanced life, brotherly kindness, by their fruits ye shall know them, charity, children of God, diligence, discernment, excellence, excellence is a habit, excellent in working, faith, fellowship, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, glorify God, godliness, guidance, how excellent is thy loving-kindness, human nature, if these things abound in you, knowledge, LOVE, loving kindness, party all weekend, patience, perseverance, perspective, put their trust, relaxation, renewed and refreshed, rest, righteousness., royal household of Christ, self-control, sincere, spiritual necessity, temperance, Thank God is Friday, the children of men, the fruits of righteousness, the glory and praise of God, the Philippians, the steadfast love of God, till the day of Christ, under the shadow of thy wings, unfruitful, unfruitful in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, useless, virtue, without offense, wonderful in counsel, ye shall neither be barren, your love may abound
2 Peter 1:8. For if these things be in you (are yours), and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren (useless) nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Aye Friends, as I was walking down the street just now, on this wet and windy November morn, this is the chorus I heard emanating from within the confines of a small business place on the corner.
‘Thank God is Friday… We going out and party tonight! Thank God is Friday… We going to have a good time! Thank God is Friday… We not going home till morning come…Thank God is Friday… We going to sleep out the whole of Saturday… Thank God is Friday yes!’
Hn, hn! Don’t laugh Friends, because that’s what a lot of us do. We party on Friday, then sleep away Saturday, or party on Saturday then sleep away Sunday. Some of us even party all weekend then can’t get up to go to work on Monday and complain about how the job is interfering with our lives, when the problem is that we overdid it.
Anyway, there’s no explaining human nature, so let’s just chant our Friday Chant and try to get a better perspective on it all. Chanting: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes my people, that is a much better way to handle the short two days off from our jobs. It calls for a balanced schedule of fun, relaxation, worship and fellowship. Bringing balance to our lives is the only way that we can successfully live this earthly pilgrimage.
But Lucifer and his evil cohorts do their best to make us lose that sense of balance, because they know that then we are particularly vulnerable to their wiles and lies. So having balance is not only a sensible physical thing, but also a spiritual necessity.
Now let’s turn to our Bit. ‘For if these things be in you (are yours), and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren (useless) nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.’
Ah mih people, we saw yesterday from Aristotle’s quote, that excellence is a habit, and if it’s one thing Jesus desires from ALL of His followers is excellence. And as Peter told us yesterday we have already been filled with all the things we need to be excellent followers of Jesus, we just have to work diligently at it.
We need to diligently combine our faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance (self-control), patience (perseverance), godliness, brotherly kindness and charity (LOVE) into one effective whole. For as our Bit tells us, if those things abound in us, then we won’t be useless or unfruitful.
Remember Jesus said by our fruits we shall be known. (Mat.7:16) And we can only bring forth good fruits if we have good things within us, and we work diligently at them.
Now let’s look at a few scriptures that deal with excellence. First up is that well known passage from Psalm 36 – The steadfast LOVE of God – where Bruh David proudly proclaims: ‘How excellent (precious) is thy LOVING-kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.’ (Ps.36:7)
Then Cousin Sol tells us in Proverbs 17: ‘Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince.’ (Prov.17:7) And remember Friends, as believers, we are of the royal household of Christ, which means we are all princes and princesses, thus only excellence becomes us.
And the prophet Isaiah when talking about Jerusalem being warned, boldly declares: ‘This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working (guidance).’
Yes my brethren, if we truly study our wonderful and omnipotent God, we’ll discover that ALL He does or says is excellent. Excellence is His middle name!
And Bruh Paul, when talking to the Philippians about thanksgiving and prayer, says it thus: ‘And this I pray, that your LOVE may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgement (discernment); That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.’ (Phil.1:9-11).
And we’ll end with explanations of those two last verses from the scholars. ‘1:10. Things that are excellent means “things that really matter.” This refers to important issues. As the Philippians LOVE increases in knowledge and discernment (v.9), they will be able to accurately distinguish the vital and worthwhile things in life from those that are not.
Contextually, the readers’ LOVE for Paul vexes them as they are anxious over his imprisonment. He wants them to perceive his imprisonment as being among those “things that really matter” because of the good that God will bring out of it. The purpose for such discrimination is that ye may be sincere (or, morally pure) and without offense till the day of Christ.’
‘1:11. This verse could be translated, “filled with the fruit that is righteousness, which comes through Jesus Christ for the purpose of glorifying and praising God.” The believer who is pure and without offense before God (v.10) has divinely developed in him a practical “righteousness” or daily moral life that measures up to God’s standards in character and conduct. The ultimate purpose for this “righteousness” is to glorify God.’
So my fellow believers, let’s try and put all that we have heard into practice today nuh, obviously with God’s help, so that we truly be worthy of the name, ‘children of God.’ Much LOVE!
…the three most important words in Christianity…excellence…excellence…excellence… (smile)
08 Aug 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accoding to their deeds God will repay, adversaries, another week of work, baptizing, brought to Jesus, christianity, communication revolution, contemplative sigh, corrupt ways, corruption, diligently spread God's Word, enemies, enthusiasm, eternal life, even to the end of the world, ever-LOVING God, evil, fear, fear the name of the Lord, fellowship, Friday chant, from the rising of the sun, further God's glorious kingdom, generations, generous help, Glory be, God's children, God's Word, Hallelujah, Holy Ghost, holy spirit, I am with you always, I will make thy name to be remembered, in the name of the Father, incense, Internet, Jesus Christ, lethargy, looking up to heaven, lord of hosts, lost souls, LOVE, loving kindness, loving nature, magnificent, Malachi, mercies, my name shall be great among the heathen, observe all things I have commanded you, omni-present, omnipotent, omniscient, pandemic, praise, praise God, Psalm 45, purpose, recompense, relaxation, renewed and refeshed, rest, salvation, Scrip-Bit, servants of the lord, sincerely live our faith, suffering, teach all nations, Thank God is Friday, thanks, the Great Commission, the Lord's anger, the Lord's decree, the people shall praise thee for ever, the rising of the sun, the SON, the Sprit of the Lord, tired eyes, truly love our God, ungodly world, wisdom, worship
Psalm 45:17. I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.
Well Friends, at last it’s that fateful day – Friday!
And surprisingly, instead of the usual raucous and joyful shouts, I hear a tired, contemplative sigh and a less than enthusiastic ‘Thank God is Friday yes… Don’t think I could have handled one more day nuh…Thank God is Friday oui…’ tired eyes looking up to heaven.
Yeh mih people, it’s been a short work week for many of us, but the tiredness from the recent Caribana celebrations lingers on. Hopefully then, this weekend we’ll take our Friday Chant a little more seriously than usual.
Let’s chant: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes Friends, some of you will definitely understand this weekend, the need for rest, relaxation and fellowship! (smile)
And our Bit for today comes from the last verse of Psalm 45, a psalm dedicated to and celebrating the king’s marriage, where a powerful affirmation is made. ‘I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.’
Oh my people, I surely hope that we ALL know that that’s the major purpose of all God’s children on planet earth – to make His mighty and glorious name known to all and sundry, throughout each generation, and thus have the people praise and glorify Him right through eternity?
That’s the ‘Great Commission’ Jesus gave to the disciples, and consequently us, before He departed this earth. ‘Go ye therefore, and teach ALL nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe ALL things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
And it does us a whole lot of good to remember that every so often, so that we don’t fall into a perpetual state of lethargy and/or fear, and diligently talk to others about our omnipotent, omniscient, omni-present, magnificent and ever-LOVING God!
Now let’s check out a few passages of scripture which corroborate our Bit. Listen first to the prophet Malachi, as the Lord rebukes the priests through him.
‘For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen (Gentile nations), saith the Lord of hosts.’ (Mal.1:11)
Yes Friends, the Lord has decreed that His name, and holy, LOVING nature will be known throughout His universe! And you know that whatever He decrees, it ALWAYS comes to pass, in His time.
And right now we’re witnessing, thankfully experiencing a communication revolution like the world has never seen before, which makes it so much easier to spread God’s Word all over the entire world. And this Scrip-Bit message over the Internet is a perfect example of that.
And all God’s children gave out a joyful shout of ‘Glory be!’
Yes my brethren, God’s name and glory need to go to the ends of the earth, so that He can be magnified and the numerous lost souls out there brought to Jesus, so that they can receive the most wonderful gifts of salvation and eternal life!
Now hear the prophet Isaiah, as he warns Israel on national corruption and the consequent suffering thereof… Oh my, my! Isaiah must have been here checking out our time too, because corruption is so rampant all over the globe that it’s become pandemic.
Anyway, here is what Isaiah promises: ‘According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; to the islands (coastlands) he will (fully) repay recompense.
So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard (banner) against him.’ (Is.59:18-19)
Oh Friends, I wouldn’t want to experience the Lord’s true anger nuh. But if we persist in our evil, ungodly, corrupt ways, at some stage of the game, we will certainly feel it.
And we’ll end with these wonderful verses from Psalm 113, which deals with the many mercies of our most wonderful God. ‘Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah), Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore.
From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised. The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!’ (Ps.113:1-6)
And the correct answer to that my brethren is NOBODY!
So today, my fellow believers, let’s remember the greatness, the faithfulness, and the LOVING nature of our God and go forth in appropriate praise, thanks, and worship, so that we can bring everlasting glory to His name, as He desires, for that’s our bounden duty. Much LOVE!
…the three do’s of Christianity…truly LOVE our God…sincerely LIVE our Faith…and diligently SPREAD God’s word…
18 Jul 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: appreciate each day, be not afraid, belief, blasphemy, bread, bread of life, disciples, do his bidding, doubters, earthly sojourn, eternal life, faith, feast of the tabernacles, fellowship, Friday chant, furthering God's glorious kingdom, Galilee, generous help, give of our best everyday, god the father, going through the motions, good examples, gospel truth, heavenly wisdom, hunger, in Jesus' name, in the limelight, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, Jesus' help, Jews, Judea, LOVE, miraculous works, no prophet is accepted in his own country, only believe, physical hunger, promise, ramp up our belief in Jesus, salvation, scoffers, show thyself to the world, son of god, souls, spiritual beings, spiritual bread of life, spiritual life, spirituality, testify for Jesus, Thank God is Friday, the Father is in me, the Father's bidding, the weekend, thirst, truth, wisdom, witness for Jesus, works
Mark 5:36b. Be not afraid, only believe.
‘Friday, oh Friday, how I LOVE you Friday! Friday, oh Friday, doh care what nobody says, I will always LOVE you, because you bring the weekend near. That’s why I sing; Friday, oh Friday! Thank God it’s Friday!’
Yes my brethren, it’s that day we all wait and long so badly for, because it signals the end of the workweek. Now there’s nothing wrong with looking forward to the weekend, but technically speaking, we shouldn’t be doing as so many of us are; just going through the motions at work waiting for Friday to come so that we can go home and party the weekend away.
That attitude most certainly detracts from our witness for Jesus, and anything that does that is wrong! We must learn to appreciate each and everyday, and also give of our best each and everyday, for people are watching us; the way we work, the way we behave, and we therefore need to set good examples, if we want to be able to testify for Jesus.
Anyway, let’s chant our Friday Chant, which gives us a little better insight into how we should spend our weekends. As one now; let’s chant! ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
And Friends, if we’ll take that to heart and follow it, we’ll be much better off when Monday and the new workweek arrives. But as Jesus says in our Bit: ‘Be not afraid, only believe.’
And that’s gospel, my people! For we’re not very good at anything unless we believe in what we’re doing, and also believe that we can do it, with Jesus’ help of course.
Now today we’ll continue looking at scripture passages that call for that act of BELIEF! And we’ll begin with one of the most provocative but important statements Jesus made in His earthly sojourn.
When the people were clamouring for bread to fulfill their physical hunger: ‘Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life, he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.’ (John 6:35)
And the scholars explain that verse this way: ‘6:35. I am the bread of life means the bread that gives life. The life of which He speaks is spiritual and eternal.’
Oh my brethren, it is necessary to have physical bread to quench our physical hunger pangs, but it’s even more important, a vital necessity, to have the spiritual bread of life which only Jesus can give, so that we can attain salvation and eternal life!
We’ll always need worldly bread to quiet our complaining stomachs, but once we have the bread of life that Jesus gives, our souls, our spiritual beings, will never hunger or thirst again!
Now isn’t that a wonderful promise, one that we should all hasten to accept? Indeed it is! So let’s all concentrate on acquiring it today nuh, for it’s certainly heavenly wisdom.
Then Friends, we come to a little noticed passage of scripture, but which I believe hurt Jesus immensely. Now just before the feast of the tabernacles, Jesus’ family urged Him to go up to Jerusalem to celebrate it, but he declined, preferring to stay in Galilee, as the Jews in Judea were out to kill him.
‘His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and (while) he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, show thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him.’ (John 7:3-5)
Imagine that nuh people, Jesus’ own family didn’t believe in Him! That had to hurt and disappoint Him. This led Him to later say: ‘Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.’ (Luke 4:24) And that’s no lie, for the doubters and scoffers are usually the ones closest to the person in the limelight.
And we’ll close with another interesting episode from Jesus. This time the Jews were wanting to stone Him because they considered His claim to be the Son of God total blasphemy.
But Jesus simply reasoned to them: ‘If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.’ (John 10:37-38)
And the same thing applies to us today Friends. If we believe that Jesus did the miraculous works the Good Book claims He did, then we also have to acknowledge that He could only have done them by working in conjunction with God the Father. For no one could do those kinds of things on or in their own strength.
It therefore behooves us to believe that ALL He said was true; not to doubt, but to BELIEVE!
So this fateful Friday morning my brethren, let’s ramp up our belief in Jesus, and go out and do His bidding, just like He went out and did the Father’s bidding. That’s the best way to show our faith, our true and strong belief in Him. Much LOVE!
…you can’t put forth your best effort…unless your heart believes in what you’re doing…
14 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a great day, angry, arduous labour, badly needed, best intentions, bless, body, bounden duty, celebrate Love, Christian, condemnation, day of Love, dissolute, emotionally, exercise judgement, fellow believers, fellowship, forgiving, Friday, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, genuine caring, godly act, godly wisdom, gracious, greedy, Happy Valentine's Day, help, help each other, hope, human vocabulary, in short supply, individuals, inner motives, it takes two to tango, jesus name, judge not, judgement of God, just, keep our promise, life's dark winding and lonely road, littered with, Lord God Jehovah, loving, mentally, merciful, mercy, mind, needy, no man is an island, one hand can't wash itself, oppressed, physically, prejudicial information, prosper, reach out and touch, relaxation, renewed and refreshed, replenish strength, resentful, respite, rest, right perspective, riotous living, self-supporting, selfish, shall cry himself, shall not be heard, showing some kind of Love, soul, sovereign God, standard of judgement, stop his ears, succeed, Thank God is Friday, the cry of the poor, the law and the prophets, the poor, the rich and famous, the sick, the suffering, tit for tat, True LOVE, two hands to clap, unfortunate, ungodly world, universal principle, Valentine's day, valuable weekend, week of work, workers, worthwhile followers
Proverbs 21:13. Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!
Oh Friends, it’s Friday, it’s Friday! Thank God it’s Friday! And the lucky workers around the world, though not always with the best intentions, are thanking God that it’s Friday, and they’re going to have a brief respite from their arduous labours.
Now that is all well and good, but what we do with the brief respite from work is also important. We cannot just waste it on riotous and dissolute living, but need to use it to replenish our strength; mentally, physically and emotionally.
So let’s chant our Friday Chant, which gives us the right perspective on how to use our oh so valuable weekend. All together now, in full voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Now that’s a much better and wiser way to use our days off! And on another important note Friends, today is not only Friday, but also VALENTINE’S DAY; a day on which we celebrate LOVE!
And though it’s been highly commercialized, like almost every other important day, and is more or less viewed as a day for romantic LOVE, it’s still a day when we reach out and touch others.
And any day we do that is indeed a great day! For reaching out and touching others, showing some kind of LOVE is so badly needed and in such short supply in our greedy, angry, resentful and ungodly world!
And it really doesn’t matter all that much what kind of LOVE we touch others with nuh, once it’s TRUE LOVE, it goes a long way towards bringing peace, justice and equal rights to our unjust, war-like and oppressive times.
So today my brethren, when we think of LOVE and giving, let’s not only remember those nearest and dearest to us, with flowers, chocolates and whatever else the commerce peddlers throw at us, but more importantly, let’s stop for a moment and consider our Bit.
‘Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.’
Oh Friends, that is just another angle of the universal principle on which our just, merciful, gracious, forgiving, LOVING and sovereign God built His universe; whatever you sow, the same shall you reap. That means, generally speaking, whatever we do, will be done back to us.
So if the poor cries out to us for help and mercy, and we ignore them, at some future date, when we too cry out for help and mercy, we will not be heard, but also ignored. It’s a simple principle – tit for tat.
And our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ made it quite clear to us when He declared: ‘Judge (condemn) not, that ye be not judged (condemned). For with what judgement (condemnation) ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete (use), it shall be measured to you again.’ (Matt.7:1-2)
And as the scholars explain: ‘7:1-4. Judge not refers to an unfavourable and condemnatory judgement. This does not mean that a Christian should never exercise judgement of any kind under any circumstances. The point being made here is that we are not to judge the inner motives of another.
We are not to render a verdict based on prejudicial information. Nor are we to use ourselves as the standard of judgement for with what…ye mete (measure) you shall be judged. That ye be not judged refers to the ultimate judgement of God rather than our own judgement.’
Oh mih breddren, what’s so hard to understand about all that eh? Nothing at all! It’s like we say: it takes two to tango; two hands to clap; one hand can’t wash itself.
Yes my fellow believers, one of the most important words in our human vocabulary, regardless of the language, is ‘help.’ And one of the most important phrases is ‘help each other,’ for without somebody’s help, NONE of us can ever hope to prosper and succeed. That’s why the phrase ‘no man is an island,’ has also been coined.
The Lord God Jehovah didn’t make this world merely as a bunch of selfish, self-supporting individuals, but as a group of people who are supposed to work together, to help each other along life’s dark, winding and lonely road.
Unfortunately though my fellow believers, our world is littered with the poor, needy and oppressed, and it’s our bounden duty to help them however and whenever we can.
Remember it was the poor, the needy, the lost, the sick, the suffering and the oppressed that Jesus came to save, and it was those types that He hung out with, much more than the rich and famous. And if we’re to be His true and worthwhile followers, we need to do the same things He did.
So today, on Valentine’s Day, this Day of LOVE, I’m asking us all to remember those who are not as fortunate as us. Pray for them, as well as try to help at least ONE unfortunate person. Bless them with something, or in some way that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ can interpret as genuine caring and LOVE.
Remember the rich and powerful don’t give two expletives deleted about the poor and downtrodden, so it’s up to us believers to help them out of their misery.
Please, let’s make a serious, sincere and generous effort to help someone today. That’s not only godly wisdom, as well as our bounden duty, but also a godly act, which we’ve all committed and promised to make our life’s work.
So please, let’s start keeping our promise nuh, for it’s not wise or healthy to make promises and then not keep them. Much LOVE!
…therefore all things…whatsoever ye would that men should do to you…do ye even so to them…for this is the law and the prophets… (Matt.7:12)
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