07 Sep 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new covenant, Bible, born again, carry them in his bosom, Christ's atonement for the sins of mankind, christianity, committed himself, deepen my breath, distorted concept, extending grace to the Gentiles, faith, feed his flock like a shepherd, follow in his steps, forgive their iniquity, gather the lambs with his arms, gently lead those that are with young, god, holy spirit, I am the good shepherd, I may know you all the more, I was an husband to them, I will put my law in their inward parts, in every good work, in my groping effort to find you, increase my awareness of you, Jesus Christ, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, Lost Shepherd, LOVE, make you perfect, need only to surrender, neither was guile found in his mouth, One Year Book of Bible promises, quiet my soul, remember their sin no more, reversed the parable of the Shepherd and the sheep, reviled not again, Ruth Harms Calkin, searching for God, slow my thoughts, stumble through darkness, thank you for this tenderness, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, the blood of the everlasting covenant, the bride of Christ, the God of peace, the good shepherd gives his life for his sheep, the shepherd has been lost, to atone for our sins, to do His will, to him that judgeth righteously, truth, well-pleasing in his sight, when he was reviled, who did no sin
John 10:11. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
So it’s Saturday, and are we ever thankful for it because it’s a chance to rest and laze around and do absolutely nothing, if we so desire. (smile) And even if it’s cool, cloudy and interspersed with some heavenly blessings, who cares? It’s our lazy-day Saturday! And to complete the picture, let’s add the finishing touch to it, our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer.
So as one voice, in all sincerity and truth: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And without a doubt, our hearts, minds, bodies and souls will soon feel uplifted with the extra presence of the Lord, because He just LOVES to hear us calling out for more of Him. What a pity more of us can’t be bothered to do that, for then our lives would be ever so much more pleasant and godly. Now, let’s look at an apt, thought provoking poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. This one is interestingly titled ‘Lost Shepherd.’ And by the way, I don’t think I’ve ever shared this one. (smile)
Please read with me. ‘Sometimes, Lord In my groping effort to find You I have reversed the parable Of the Shepherd and the sheep. In my distorted concept The Shepherd has been lost And the sheep have trudged down Dangerous mountain cliffs to find him. How sadly prone I am to forget That I would not be searching for You If You were not first wanting me. Let me remember always, Lord How foolish it is To stumble through darkness Searching for You When I need only to surrender To your search for me.’
Ah friends, how true that is! Sometimes, in our tough and anxious moments, we go searching for the Lord, when all that’s necessary is to surrender ourselves because He has already instituted a search for us. In fact He’s always searching for us, like lost sheep, to bring us back home to His safe and protective fold. And the Bible Promise for our poem today is none other than this one of great assurance, where our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ makes it known: ‘I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.’ (John 10:11)
And did He ever back up those words with positive action, by dying on the cross of Calvary to atone for our sins. As Peter tells it in his first epistle. ‘For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile (deceit) found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again (in return); when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes (wounds) ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop (Overseer) of your souls.’ (1 Pet. 2:21-25) Yes my fellow believers, that in a nutshell, is what our Lord and Saviour did to become our wonderful Shepherd!
And what’s so marvellous about the Lord’s Word, the Bible, are the promises and prophecies made in the early stages that have all come through in the latter times. For instance this scripture about Jesus being the good shepherd. The prophet Isaiah prophesied about it long before Jesus ever came to earth, in these familiar words: ‘He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.’ (Is. 40:11)
And the prophet Jeremiah outlined God’s plans when talking about the New Covenant. ‘Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which was my covenant they brake, although I was an husband to them, saith the Lord:
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts (minds), and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall know me, from the last of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and will remember their sin no more.’ (Jer. 31:31-34)
Now what does all of that mean? Here’s a brief explanation from the scholars. ‘In this prophecy Jeremiah foresees the new covenant (testament) that God will make with mankind by extending His grace to the Gentiles. Under this new covenant, God will call out a people for Himself from all the nations of the earth to form the bride of Christ (Rev. 21:1-9). This new and unconditional covenant is better than the old covenant because it rests on the efficacy of Christ’s atonement for the sins of mankind.’
And it all began falling into place, when Jesus the good shepherd came to earth and began gathering sheep to His flock, those who were willing to be born again through the Holy Spirit. And that’s why the Bible is such a true and powerful document; for whatever it prophesies, does come to pass. Consequently, we can go home with these reassuring words from Hebrews. ‘Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect (complete) in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.’ (Heb. 13:20-21)
And we all know the work that Jesus did on our behalf, setting us an example that He expects us to follow. So let’s get out there and do it nuh! Much LOVE!
…there’s no shepherd as good as Jesus…for His sheep always have the best care…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
10 Aug 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: apostasy, Bible, blasphemers, boasters, building up yourselves, calm, christianity, covetous, deepen my breath, denying he power thereof, engage in the works of Satan, enjoy the laziness, eternal life for those willing to believe, faith, from such turn away, god, holy spirit, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, in the last days, increase my awareness of you today, inequity, inequity is driving much of the strife in our world, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jude, know you all the more, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, looking for the mercy of Christ, LOVE, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, men shall be lovers of their own selves, mockers in the last time, perilous times shall come, praying inthe Holy Spirit, presence of god, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, religion without spiritual life, reserved unto fire, scoffers will come, separate themselves, slavery, slow my thoughts, strife-filled world, thank you for this tenderness, the church age, the promise of his coming, traitors, truth, trying times, until the day of judgement, walk after their own ungodly lusts, walking after their own lusts, we desperately need God's calm and peace, who cause divisions, wisdom, without self-control
2 Peter 3:3. Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers (mockers), walking after (according to) their own lusts,
And it’s a somewhat cool and windy but sunshiny lazy-day Saturday in my neck of the woods. And I did try to stay abed a little longer, to enjoy the laziness of the day, but my old bones would have none of it. They argued that they’d had enough lying down, were getting stiff, and therefore needed to get up and move around. And, sadly, one cannot contend with those arguments, especially when there’s pain to back them up. (smile) So here we are, trying to find other ways to enjoy the laziness. And there’s’ no better way to do that than to look to heaven and offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer.
So, as one sincere and heartfelt voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
Now, having offered up that prayer, let’s take a few moments to enjoy the overwhelming calm and wonderful presence of God that’s beginning to flow through our souls, spirits, bodies and minds, because as we say every week, sincerely seeking more of God is the kind of prayer He cannot refuse, and therefore He answers it right away. And do we ever desperately need the calm and peace of God’s presence in these trying times, when it seems that Bruh Paul’s words to Timothy are ringing true. We’re referring to his words pertaining to perilous times.
‘This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous (money lovers), boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. Without natural affection, trucebreakers (irreconcilable), false accusers (slanderers), incontinent (without self-control), fierce (brutal), despisers of those that are good. Traitors, heady (reckless) high-minded (haughty), lovers of pleasures more than (rather) lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.’ (2 Tim. 3:1-5)
Oh my people, a greater warning we will never have, because when we look around our strife-filled, chaotic world we can see that it’s definitely over populated by the types of people Bruh Paul spoke about almost two thousand years ago! It’s certainly sad and trying times we’re living in when such a large proportion of the world’s population have chosen to engage in the works of Satan, rather than those of Jehovah God. If you look at each category that Bruh Paul talks about you’ll certainly see them flourishing in our current world.
Especially the money lovers or the greedy, who are driving the world to ruin, trying to scrape up everything for themselves, when they already have more than they can ever use. That’s why one percent of the world owns ninety something percent of it, while the remaining ninety nine percent own less than ten percent. And it’s that sad inequity that’s driving a lot of the strife and dissension on the earth.
It’s surprising to note, that at this supposedly advanced stage of our civilization, that a great percentage of our people are still fighting for some sort of equality, whether it be for race, colour, or creed, for the rights of women and children, for the right to be free, both spiritually and physically, because physical slavery is still being practiced in many parts of the earth.
And what does it all mean? The scholars explain it thus: ‘The last days began with the birth of Christ and will culminate in Christ’s return to earth to set up His kingdom. The prediction of perilous times indicates that apostasy (a turning away from God) will characterize the final days of the church age.’ And for whatever reason(s), we’re certainly seeing people turn away from God in droves, much more than are coming to Him. Meanwhile, ‘A form of godliness simply means mere religion without power or spiritual life.’ And it’s the spiritual power in our lives that really guides us through this earthly life. So if you don’t have it, then crapaud smoke yuh pipe.
Now, it’s not only Bruh Paul that warned the early Christian church about the ungodliness of the last days of the church age, both Peter and Jude also did it. Listen to Peter’s warning. ‘This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us apostles of the Lord and Saviour: Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers (mockers), walking after (according to) their own lusts,
And saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the Fathers fell asleep (died), all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of (forget), that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water. Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against (until) the day of judgement and perdition (destruction) of ungodly men.’ (2 Pet. 3:1-7)
Yes friends, it’s the same type of warning that in the last days of the church age, men will turn away from God, mocking and blaspheming His holy name, using all kinds of trumped up, untrue and ungodly arguments, as the scholars tell us, ‘to ridicule the promise of Christ’s second coming. Peter further states that arguments based on supposedly unchanging processes since creation fail to recall the severity of the flood of water upon the earth. Just as God once destroyed the world by water, so it is now reserved unto fire until the day of judgement. See the descriptions of fiery judgements in Revelation 17-19)’
Yuh see my fellow believers, the devil is working in all sorts of underhanded and deceitful ways to try to turn us away from God. No depths of deceit are too low for him to turn to. And Jude, apparently Jesus’ brother, who like several other brothers, only came to faith after He died, puts his warning thus:
‘But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of (by) the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves (cause divisions), sensual (worldly), having not the Spirit. But ye beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the LOVE of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.’ (Jude 17-21)
Yes my fellow saints, the Word of the Lord is indeed true, as we can see from the prophecies that are now being fulfilled in these last days. Therefore let’s be wise and take godly action to protect ourselves from the evil one, while also building up our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, so we shall be perfectly entrenched in His camp when He returns. Much LOVE!
…a word to the wise is sufficient…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
29 Jun 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: and having done all to stand, Bible, bring forth thy righteousness as the light., commit thy way unto the Lord, delight thyself also in the Lord, do good, faith, fret not because of him who prospers, fret not thyself because of evildoers, give thee the desires of thine heart, god, God's awesome presence, God's word is our greatest treasure, he hears us, if we ask anything according to His will, increase my awareness of you today, Jesus, Jesus Christ, judgement as the noonday, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, LOVE, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity, pray according to God's will, prayer, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, Rest in the Lord, slow my thoguhts, soon be cut down like the grass, thank you for this tenderness, the man who brings wicked devices to pass, this is the confidence that we have in Him, trust in the Lord, wait patiently for the Lord, we have the petitions we desired, whatsoever we ask, wisdom
1 John 5:14. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us:
It’s a rainy lazy-day Saturday morning… just right for lying in bed, cozily wrapped up under the covers, doing something you simply cannot do during the week. (smile) Unfortunately though, I could not take advantage of such largesse because I went to bed early last night, spending more hours than normal in the bed, and just when the rain began falling, my ole back complained about too much lying down, and pained enough that I was forced to get up from the warm, comfortable bed and get a move on with my day.
Hn! What a calamity in my old age! But them’s the breaks! And it wasn’t like I hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep. However, it would be nice to lie for as long as one desires in one’s own bed, without any complaints from one’s body. (smile) Anyway, enough with my petty troubles, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with all sincerity and truth.
As one voice. ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And, as our prayer was sincere, and the Lord LOVES those kinds of prayers, requiring His awesome presence in our lives, we know it’s only a matter of time before we begin feeling His presence lifting our spirits. It’s as John says in his first epistle. ‘And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired (asked) of him.’ (1 John 5:14-15)
Yes friends, if we pray according to God’s will, then we will inevitably receive the desires for which we asked. But it must be His will for us, and also His time. So, sometimes when we pray in His will and seem to get a no answer, it’s not necessarily a definite ‘NO’ but possibly, it’s just not the right time, you’re not ready for that as yet. But in any case, we should take these words of Bruh David from Psalm 37 very seriously, where he writes about not fretting and placing our sincere trust in God.
Please read with me: ‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on his faithfulness). Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement (justice) as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise (for it only causes harm). For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps. 37:1-9)
Oh my people, that’s one passage of scripture, like a few others, if you don’t read anything else, and just follow the directives contained therein, they would marvellously sustain you in your Christian walk. What does it say eh? ‘Fret not…Trust in the Lord, and do good… Delight thyself in the Lord…Commit thy way unto the Lord…Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently… Cease from anger, and forsake wrath…those that wait upon the Lord shall inherit the earth.’
Yes mih bredrin, that’s it in a nutshell! Everything you need to know and do in a practical sense to serve the Lord and enjoy the awesome benefits that come from truly serving Him. And no, those things are not always easy to do especially in these unsavoury and distrustful times, but if we stand strong in our faith, the Lord will help us to rest, trust, not fret, delight, commit and wait patiently for His will to come to pass. That’s what faith is all about: standing strong, even when the world is falling down around us.
And as we saw earlier on this week, the Lord will not allow us to go through the fire, flooded rivers or any thing that can harm us without offering a helping hand. But we have to believe that sufficiently so we can do whatever is necessary to make a stand for Jesus. As Bruh Paul says in Ephesians: ‘…and having done all, to stand.’ (Eph. 6:13) Yes my fellow believers, it’s ever so important that we stand strong for Jesus in this evil and ungodly world, so that we can make a significant difference and turn things around, looking unto heaven instead of hell.
By the way, another of those scripture passages that contain almost everything we need to know and do is Proverbs 3:5-12. It might be a good idea for us to review it soon, so that we can do what Bruh Paul advises in Colossians: ‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly (abundantly) in all wisdom;’ (Col. 3:16a)
And what does it mean to let the word of God dwell in you richly? This commentary explains it thus: ‘Letting God’s Word dwell in us means we spend time reading Scripture, memorizing it, and letting it change our hearts, words, and behaviour. Doing that impacts three areas of our lives: what we teach, how we counsel, and the way we worship God.’
And having said all of that, it’s now time to get up and put it work, action those seemingly simple but oh so difficult and important things we need to do to walk worthily of Christ and bring honour and glory to His holy name! Much LOVE!
… if God’s Word is our greatest treasure…then deception will have no place…to rest its evil feet in our lives…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
22 Jun 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a modicum of circumspection, a wise masterbuilder, according to the grace of God, be found unto praise honour and glory at Christ's appearing, be revealed by fire, being much more precious than gold, Bible, brought us out into a wealthy place, christianity, defer my anger, diversified trials, every man's work shall be made manifest, faith, for my name's sake, for my praise will I restrain thee, for other foundation can no man lay than Jesus, god, great will be our rewards in heaven, he knows the way I take, I have refined thee nut not with silver, I may know you all the more, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, I shall come forth as gold, I will not give my glory to another, increase my awareness of you today, Jesus, Jesus Christ, laid affliction upon our loins, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, let every man take heed how he builds, live for Christ, LOVE, manifold temptations, quiet my soul, receiving the end of your faith, rejoice with joy unspeakable, right motives of our hearts, salvation, slow my thoughts, spiritual maturity, summer came in like a lion, tested thee in the furnace of affliction, thank you for this tenderness, that I cut thee not off, the Lord's presence, the salvation of your souls, the trial of your faith, touches the cockles of God's heart, tried us as silver is tried, true faith cannot be destroyed, when he hath tried me, whom having not seen you love, wisdom, your peace and love are present
Job 23:10. But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
And on this lazy-day Saturday, the second official day of summer, the weather is sunny and fairly cool, compared with earlier this week, when summer came in like a mighty lion with temperatures in the constant thirties. Let’s hope that it will stay in the mid-twenties for a while now. The heat’s nice, much preferable to the cold, but we do need a modicum of circumspection, for too much of anything is no good. (smile)
Now, let’s get serious and offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Morning Prayer in all sincerity. As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And because the motives of our hearts were right, we can now feel the Lord’s presence, His LOVE and peace truly hovering around us in even more abundance than before. And I like this prayer because it’s one of those that touch the cockles of God’s heart. You’re sincerely asking for more of Him, and He will never refuse such a prayer, since it’s His greatest desire for His human creation to sincerely seek Him with all their hearts, minds, souls and bodies.
So, as we promised yesterday, if the Lord spared life today, we would continue looking at some scriptures that speak to the testing of our faith. And all God’s children said a grateful: ‘Thank You Lord for allowing us to see another day on your great earth!’
Let’s begin then with this interesting scripture from Isaiah re God’s deferred anger. ‘For my name’s sake, will I defer (delay) my anger, and for my praise will I refrain (restrain) for thee, that I cut thee not off (destroy you). Behold, I have refined thee, but not with (as) silver; I have chosen (tested) thee in the furnace of affliction. For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted (profaned)? and I will not give my glory unto another.’ (Is. 48:9-11)
Yes friends, for the Lord’s own sake, that we do not profane His holy name, He refines us in the fires of affliction. And those fires are never very nice, but they do serve to refine us, grow us in spiritual maturity, and keep us on the right path. Now, hear these awesome words of the psalmist.
‘O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard: Which holdeth our soul in life (among the living), and suffereth not our feet to be moved (slip). For thou, O God, hast proved (tested) us: thou hast tried (refined) us, as silver is tried. Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy (an abundant) place.’ (Ps. 66:8-12)
Yuh see that mih bredrin, though the Lord tries and afflicts us, it’s always for our own good, for our benefit. He brings us out of the afflictions in a better place than when we went in. Then there’s this interesting scripture from Bruh Paul in 1 Corinthians. ‘According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble (straw); Every man’s work shall be made manifest (become evident); for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try (test) every man’s work of what sort it is. If a man’s work abide (endures) which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved: yet so as by (through) fire.’ (1 Cor. 3:10-15)
Oh my people, come the judgement day, even our works will be tested to see how they held up to Christ’s service. And if they don’t survive the fire, because they are built on hay, wood or straw, then we will lose rewards, but not our salvation. For as the scholars explain: ‘The stress in this entire passage is not on a person’s relationship to Christ, but on service to Christ.’
Meanwhile, Job in his great trial said it thus: ‘Behold, I go forward, but he (God) is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him. On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself (turns) on the right hand, that I cannot see him: But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.’ (Job 23:8-10)
Job’s friends thought that his sins caused his downfall, that he was filled with rubbish, but he maintained that God knew when He tested him, pure gold would come out of the fires of his affliction. Can we be that sure of our situations? Who knows? But we’ve got to do our best to pass through the fires refined as pure gold.
Now here’s this last scripture, another famous one, this from Peter, where, writing about the incorruptible inheritance reserved in heaven for us, says: ‘Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness (distressed) through manifold temptations: That the trial (genuineness) of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried (tested) with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing (revelation) of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye LOVE; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.’ (1 Pet. 1:6-9)
And the scholars offer these explanations on those verses: ‘The problem of salvation looks to the present. Earthly trials constitute a problem of our salvation, but they are only for a season, or temporary. Manifold temptations means diversified trials. True faith cannot be destroyed though God is in the process of refining faith through our trials.’
Oh my fellow saints, living for Christ seems like a tough life, and it sometimes truly is, but let’s remember that the rewards of putting Christ first are well worth the trials and testings we go through in this evil and ungodly world. The long and short of the story is we know our salvation is assured through God’s gift of grace, and if we live the way Christ desires, great will be our rewards in heaven! Much LOVE!
…building on the solid foundation of Christ…is the wise earthly way to go…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
01 Jun 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a deflated balloon, a wise believer is always ready, be anxious for nothing, be patient therefore brethren, behold I come quickly, blessed is he that keepeth, christianity, crapaud smoke we pipe, deepen my breath, establish your hearts, evil world, faith, god, graciousness, grudge not one against the other, he hears us, holy spirit, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, if we ask anything according to His will, in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, increase my awareness of you today, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus is spiritually near, judge the believer, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, lest ye be condemned, let your moderation be known, like a thief in the night, long patience, LOVE, prayer, relax my muscles, rest and joy in the Lord's presence, slow my thoughts, thank you for this tenderness, the coming of the Lord, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit, the judge standeth before the door, the Lord is at hand, the peace of God which passeth all understading, the sayings of this prophecy, this is the confidence that we have in Him, truth, we have the petitions we desired, what a wonderful God we worship, wisdom, words of warning, you can't be contained, your love surrounds and fills me, your peace and love are present
Philippians 4:5b. The Lord is at hand.
And this first day of June 2024, a lazy-day Saturday, has opened bright, sunshiny and warm! All thanks be to God for letting us see another day on this earth with the wondrous help of His Son Jesus Christ looking out for us in heaven, and His Holy Spirit dwelling within us down here to lead, guide and comfort us in all our troubles! What a wonderful God we worship my brethren! And am I ever so sorry and heart-broken for those who don’t feel the same way, because His is the only real truth, LOVE and peace we’ll ever experience in this currently ungodly and evil world.
Now, let’s show our heavenly Father how much we LOVE and need Him by offering up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with all sincerity of heart. As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And as always, if our hearts were sincere, then we know that He heard us and will respond positively to our prayer. For as John says in his first epistle. ‘And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions we desired (asked) of him.’ (1 John 5:14-15) Again I say, what a wonderful God we serve! For we know that there is no prayer He likes to hear more than that we LOVE and need Him and desire to spend time with Him. So, by now, if our prayer was sincere, it was answered, and we should be all feeling a sense of peace, rest and joy in the Lord’s LOVING presence. (smile)
Now yesterday we dealt with the first part of Philippians 4:5 – ‘Let your moderation (gentleness) be known unto all men.’ Today we’ll look at the second half of that verse: ‘The Lord is at hand.’ (Phil. 4:5b) And we all wonder what that means to us in these turbulent times. Well, the scholars, after telling us that Moderation means “graciousness” or “sweet reasonableness.” And that the believer who is at peace with his fellow Christian (vs. 2) and who rejoices always (vs. 4) is indeed a gracious, reasonable person.
They go on to tell us that ‘The Lord is at hand means two things. First, His (Jesus’) return to earth is near. His imminent coming as judge encourages the Christian to be “gracious” unto all men, for He will judge the believer for all of his actions toward all people, and will avenge all wrongs committed by others against Him. Second the “Lord is at hand” spiritually. The Lord, being presently near should free the Christian from fear and anxiety. Hence the command of verse 6: ‘Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.’ (Phil. 4:6)
So friends, with the Lord’s coming to judge the earth being imminent, and His powerful presence spiritually abiding with us, we should not be afraid or worried about whatever circumstances we encounter. And as we said in an earlier session, that’s not always easy to do when your whole world seems to be tumbling down around you, but if you constantly pray and give thanks, and study the Word, while saving it deep in your hearts for those troublesome times, then it will help you to find that ‘Peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:7)
And God’s peace is what gets us through those tough times. We probably won’t understand it, but if we are sincere in our devotions and discipleship, we will feel it. Now, I can vouch for that from personal experience, for I felt it very powerfully some years ago when I was vacationing in California. That morning I was in the process of writing the Bit, when they told me I had a phone call from my mother’s helper back in Canada. It was an unexpected call, but deep down I knew that something disastrous had happened. And when she told me that my mother had died, like all the air just went out of my body, and I was like a deflated balloon.
But shortly thereafter, don’t ask me how, I was suddenly filled with a sense of peace and calm and went on about my business. My friends and family were concerned that I wasn’t crying and grieving, and so was I. And it’s not that I wasn’t sad and disappointed, but that peace that emanates from our good God, had put me in a different space, helping me to understand that there was nothing I could do about it, and therefore should keep my wits about me. But I did grieve and mourn and cry later on. (smile) So, it’s not always easy to put the Lord’s words into action, but if we’re serious about it, with His awesome help it is very possible.
And I’m chuckling here because I had not intended to go down that path. What I had planned on doing was to share a couple of other scriptures re the ‘Lord is at hand.’ Like this one from James’ epistle. ‘Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold the husbandman (farmer) waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish (establish) your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh (is near). Grudge (grumble) not one against another brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold the judge standeth before the door.’ (James 5:7-9)
Those are excellent words of warning my people, especially for these unruly and lawless times, when everybody’s doing their own thing, and godliness is sadly lacking in the land. And what better note to close on than these words of Jesus to John in the Book of Revelation. ‘Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.’ (Rev. 22:7) Ah friends, I plead with us to heed Jesus’ warning, for we know not when He comes, but He can come at any time, like a thief in the night, and if we’re not ready, if we’re found wanting, then crapaud smoke we pipe! Much LOVE!
…a wise believer is always ready…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
11 May 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a deceptive vision, an addiction, Bible, christianity, deepen my breath, enslaved to the possession of wealth, god, God causes us to get wealth, hate the one and love the other, healthy spiritual sight, hold to the one and despise the other, how great is that darkness, I may know you all the more, if thine eye be evil (umhealthy), if thine eye be single, increase my awareness of you today, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, LOVE, mistaken identity, money, Mother's Day, no man serve two masters, personality without blemish, Praise the Lord, quiet my soul, relax my muscles, Sermon on the Mount, sickness, slow my thoguhts, spiritual double vision, stop running down money, storing up treasures, thank you for this tenderness, the darkening of the mind, the evil eye, the eye, the light of the body, the light of the body is the eye, the LOVE of money, the root of all kinds of evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness, thy whole body shall be full of light, where your treasure is there will be your heart also, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, wisdom, Ye cannot serve God and mammon, your peace and love are present, your unceasing nearness
Matthew 6:24b. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (material wealth).
Ah friends, it’s a beautiful lazy-day Saturday… a tad windy, but definitely not as bad as it was a couple of days ago. And the store owners have big smiles on their faces as they are doing a brisk business on the eve of the Mother’s Day Celebration tomorrow. Ah Lord eh! It’s amazing how the economic forces can always find a way to strip us of the few pennies we have on some trumped up occasion. I’m not saying that Mother’s Day is not a worthwhile celebration, but the economic powers spread the goo so thickly in their advertisements that we can’t help but fall for it.
And I’m sure it’s disturbing a lot of lazy-day Saturdays, (smile) but not to mind, Mother is worth every penny and every thing we do for her. So let’s smile up and look up, as we offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday prayer with all sincerity and truth. As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And if you were sincere, then the presence and peace of God is flowing into you right now, for those kinds of prayers, prayers desiring His presence and LOVE, He answers right away. And all God’s people said a loud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord!’ Now, yesterday, when we looked at Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount re treasures and the folly of storing up earthly treasures as against heavenly ones, we left out a couple of interesting verses that Jesus outlined. And we did it on purpose because it would have made the Bit even longer than it already was.
So today, let’s take a look at those verses and see what more Jesus had to say on the subject of storing up treasures. After He declared: (yesss!!!) ‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Matt. 6:21) He continued: ‘The light (lamp) of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single (healthy), thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil (unhealthy), thy whole body shall be full of darkness; If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!’ (Matt. 6:22-23)
Now those certainly are interesting scriptures my brethren. But what do they mean? Well, let’s listen as the scholars explain. ‘6:22-23: The light of the body is associated with the eye. The concept here is based on the ancient idea that the eyes were the windows through which light entered the body. If the eyes were in good condition the body could receive such light. Jesus, using this language metaphorically, affirms that if a man’s spiritual sight is healthy and his affections directed towards heavenly treasure, his whole personality will be without blemish.
The phrase if …thine eye be single indicates devotion to one purpose. The “single eye” refers to a single, fixed vision or goal. The phrase if thine eye be evil refers to either disease or deception of vision. The “evil eye” is not something mysterious or devilish, but rather a deceptive vision that causes the viewer to mistake the identity of an object. The mistake in this context is the darkening of the mind and thus how great is that darkness!’
And yes, the explanation can be almost as challenging as the scripture itself to understand, but if we take our time with it, and go over it several times, I’m sure we’ll eventually get the gist of the whole passage. So why did Jesus introduce those ideas at that point eh? So that He could assert the following wisdom: ‘No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and LOVE the other; or else he will hold to (be loyal to) the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (material wealth).’ (Matt. 6:24)
Now that’s oh so true friends! We can only serve ONE Master at a time. And that ONE ought to be God Almighty and not the material wealth of this evil world. And the scholars tell us this about that verse. ‘6:24. This kind of spiritual double vision cause one to believe he can serve two masters. Total loyalty to God cannot be divided between Him and loyalty to one’s material possessions. A master (Gr. kurios) is a lord or an owner. That God claims total lordship over His own is obvious in this passage. Therefore Jesus rightly proclaimed, Ye cannot serve God and mammon. The term ‘mammon’ is derived from the Aramaic term for possessions or wealth. Jesus is not condemning money or possessions in and of themselves, but the improper attitude of enslavement toward wealth.’
And believe me people, too many of us, even God’s people, are still too enslaved to the possession of worldly wealth. So much so, that we run it down as though there was no tomorrow. We don’t eat or sleep properly. Our relationships are in bad shape and our attitude on the whole is totally disagreeable, because we are so fixated on gaining material wealth. It becomes an addiction, a sickness that’s difficult to overcome. It has you vying with others for supremacy in wealth and power, causes envy, jealousy and strife, and last but not least, physical sickness. And the sad part is that when you get sick, whether it’s emotionally or physically sick, the material wealth is useless in helping you to get better. Just look at the many wealthy people who die from simple diseases. Their wealth could not keep them alive.
And yes friends, it’s good to have wealth, but not if you have to run it down. Remember who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and who causes us to get wealth in the first place…our heavenly Father. So if we need material wealth He is the One we ought to turn to, for everything in the universe belongs to Him, and if He gives us wealth, like he gave to Cousin Sol, then we won’t have to worry about losing it, since He won’t give it to us until He knows that we can be proper stewards of His belongings. So please, let’s stop running down money and material possessions nuh, for it only damages our lives, and when we die, we can’t even take any of it with us. it’s just left behind to cause further strife between our friends and relatives! Much LOVE!
…the LOVE of money…is the root of all kinds of evil… (1 Tim. 6:10)
27 Apr 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abhor that which is evil, avoid the judgement of God, be not overcome of evil, calleth for the waters of the sea, christianity, cleave to that which is good, deepen my breath, establish justice in the gate, faith, fools despise wisdom and instruction, god, hate the evil, he who has ears to hear let him hear, holding on to, I know your manifold transgressions, increase my awareness of you, it is an evil time, Jesus Christ, know you all the more, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, lest he break out like fire, let love be without dissimulation, LOVE, love the good, maketh the day dark as night, overcome evil with good, poureth them out on the face of the earth, proverbial fools, rainy days, relax my muscles, seek him that maketh the seven stars, seek the Lord in true repentance, seek the Lord with all of our hearts, seek ye me and ye shall live, slow my thoughts, thank you for this tenderness, the beginning of knowledge, the end times, the fear of the Lord, the Lord God of Hosts, the Lord is his name, the only hope, the sinful tailcoat of Beelzebub, the wrath of God, there be none to quench it, thus saith the Lord, truth, turneth the shadow of death into morning, unconditional LOVE, wisdom, ye that love the Lord hate evil, your mighty sins, your unceasing nearness
Amos 5:4. For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live.
Rainy days and lazy-day Saturdays always make me glad… especially if I don’t have to go out in them. (smile) And though the early morning rain has stopped now, it’s still wet and cloudy out there, so don’t go out unless you really have to, stay inside and enjoy the relaxing laziness of the day. And to help us do that, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer.
In sincere and heartfelt voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And as always, if our words were truly sincere, then we know that the Lord is currently answering our prayer for calmness and peace, and filling our souls and spirits with His undying, unconditional LOVE, for He never allows those kinds of prayers that truly seek Him, to go unanswered.
Now, the Good Library just opened at an interesting passage from the Book of Amos, regarding ‘A Lamentation for Israel.’ Israel has gone astray once again and the Lord in His wrath is not coming with salvation for Israel, but with complete judgement. Here, the prophet Amos is informing them of the Lord’s words. ‘For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live. But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought (nothing).
Seek the Lord, and ye shall live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel. Ye who turn judgement (justice) to wormwood, and leave off (abandon) righteousness in the earth. Seek him that maketh the seven stars (the Pleiades) and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with (as) night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name:’ (Amos 5:4-8)
Oh friends, what an interesting passage of scripture, one that ought to remind us of our current plight, for we have also turned away from the God of our forefathers and taken up with the evildoers of Satan, and from day one, it has been said and shown that the evildoers will not survive the wrath of God’s judgement, but will be summarily destroyed in God’s time. But though we have seen it happen in the history books and the Bible, we still refuse to bow to the Lord God Almighty, our Creator and Controller in favour of the passing pleasures of sin.
But please note the words of Amos from the Lord. I believe He is telling us the very same thing today; turn from our evil ways, ‘Seek ye me, and ye shall live.’ As the scholars explain: ‘Three times the invitation, ‘Seek ye me, and ye shall live, is given (vs. 4, 6,14). Though God’s judgement is imminent, it can be avoided, or at least postponed, by seeking the Lord. The only hope is to seek the Lord in true repentance and thus avoid the judgement of God.’
And yuh know what my people, many of us are claiming that we’re living in the end times, and if that is true, then doesn’t it make all the more sense, is it not divine wisdom for us to turn away from our evil and ungodly ways and seek the Lord with all of our hearts, souls, bodies and minds so that we can escape His awesome wrath come the judgement day? It surely is! For as the scholars just reminded us the ONLY HOPE of avoiding severe retribution is to seek the Lord as quickly and sincerely as possible. But unfortunately many of us still insist on clinging to the evil, sinful tailcoat of Beelzebub and refuse to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
The evil and ungodly pleasures of this world hold more delights for us than acknowledging the Lord God Jehovah. However, please note these further words of the Lord through Amos’ lamentation to Israel. ‘For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty (many) sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right (from their right of justice) Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time. Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and LOVE the good, and establish judgement (justice) in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.’ (Amos 5:12-15)
Oh my fellow believers, it seems as though Amos is living amongst us today, for what he’s saying is exactly what’s happening in our world today. The injustice, the crooked deals, the evil deeds that are currently taking place as though they are natural and right outcomes is all disgusting and against the Lord’s Word. And He’s seeing it all, and because of His great LOVE for us is still warning us to turn away from evil, to seek Him, that we may live. How many times in the bible are we told to seek good and not evil eh?
Amos says it here, and the psalmist says it thus in Psalm 97: ‘Ye that LOVE the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.’ (Ps. 97:10) Meanwhile, Bruh Paul in his letter to the church at Rome tells them in no uncertain terms. ‘Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good….Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.’ (Rom. 12:9, 21)
How many more warnings do we need before we wake up from our foolish, sinful slumber and heed them eh mih bredrin? I guess Cousin Sol could not have said it any better in his opening statements in Proverbs. ‘The fear (reverential awe) of the Lord is the (principal) beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.’ (Prov. 1:7) And right now friends, we are behaving like those proverbial fools. Let’s hope that we wake up soon and thus avoid the justice that will befall those who don’t listen. Much LOVE!
…he who has ears to hear…let him hear… (Matt. 11:15)
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
27 Jan 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: every good gift, every perfect gift is from above, faith, God is ever-faithful, God never changes, his compassions fail not, holy spirit, I am the Lord I change not, I may know you all the more, increase my awareness of you today, It is of the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed, Jesus Christ, Jesus christ the same yesterday today and forever, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, Lord I want to be with you now, LOVE, mercy, quiet my soul, rock of ages, slow my thoughts, thank you for this tenderness, the abundant life, the Father of lights, the firstfruits of his creatures, the Immutability of God, the Lord's presence, the Unchanging God, thou art the same, thou O Lord shall endure for ever, thy years shall have no end, truth, unconditional LOVE, wisdom, with whom is no variableness, your love both surrounds and fills me
Hebrews 13:8. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.
Ah friends, I don’t know what to say about our recent weather patterns nuh. Remember, yesterday I said how it was so wet and cloudy in my neighbourhood and we couldn’t hope for much of a change. Well, lo and behold, when I went back upstairs a couple hours later, I was greeted by brilliant sunshine and almost dry streets. And though the brilliant sunshine did not stick around for the rest of the day, it certainly made it’s presence known and the place remained dry. And by the way, just for your information, on this lazy-day Saturday, the last one in the month of January 2024, it’s damp and cloudy out there right now. (smile)
But thankfully, that is immaterial at present, for we have God with us, so let’s get to our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer and appeal to our heavenly Father with true conviction. As one sincere voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And with those words of prayer floating up to heaven, we find the Lord’s presence floating down to us, in such abundance that we cannot handle it. But that’s the generous kind of Deity we serve. The more you LOVE Him, the more LOVE He bestows. Ah Lord eh! What would we do without Him eh? Just crumple up and die, I suppose. For who truly knows what to expect from anything or anybody in these confusing and convoluted days? The ONLY person we can be sure of is our great and wonderful God Jehovah!
Yes my people, it’s only God we can trust because He is ever-faithful and reliable, He never changes, remains the same all the time. Please beleive it my faithful brethren, our God is unchanging. The Bible tells us so. The prophet Malachi says it thus: ‘For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.’ (Mal. 3:6) And are we ever thankful for that, because if He was liable to change and wishy-washy like so many of the other false gods, we would have been destroyed long ago. As Jeremiah so aptly says in his Lamentations. ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.’ (Lam. 3:22) Words of indisputable truth!
Meanwhile the author of Hebrews reminds us: ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.’ (Heb. 13:8) That means ‘While everything around us is changing, we can depend on God continually showing us His grace, LOVE, and compassion.’ How awesome is that eh! And this commentary puts it nicely into perspective. ‘What does it mean that God doesn’t change? We call this attribute immutability. This means He doesn’t change His character, His plan, or His mind. Frankly, with the instability of life, this is the security we all long for—consistent unconditional LOVE. The Unchanging God.’
It couldn’t get any better than that friends! With God being the same all the time, we know exactly what to expect from Him, no hemming and hawing or constantly changing His mind, but a steadfastness and reliability that no one or nothing else can ever match. That’s why James could write these encouraging words to his readers. ‘Do not err (be deceived) my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness (variation), neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.’ (James 1:16-18)
And so it should be, now and forever! God is good – ALWAYS GOOD – and doesn’t change, and we the redeemed, are the first step in His redemption of all creatures. Now if you want to find more information on that last aspect, the scholars give a reference to Romans 8:18-27. And it might not be a bad idea to check out that scripture, because it does deal with some interesting stuff. (smile) Finally, turning to Psalm 102, we find the unknown psalmist writing about the ‘Lonely Soul,’ and making some profound statements re the everlasting and unchanging nature of our most marvellous and magnificent God.
He writes: ‘My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass. But thou, O Lord, shall endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations…. I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations. Of old thou hast laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure (continue): yea, all of them shall wax (grow) old like a garment; as a vesture (cloak) shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.’ (Ps. 102: 11-12; 24-27)
Oh my fellow saints, I don’t know about you all nuh, but being reminded of all that stuff, I do feel refreshed and revitalized knowing that our God is good and generous, He’s unchangeable, is compassionate and LOVING, and will endure forever with the redeemed of His people! Now isn’t that wonderful news? It certainly is! So let’s accept it with opened arms and enjoy the abundant life that Christ died for us to have. Otherwise it doesn’t make any sense being a Christian, reconciled, justified and set apart by Almighty God! Much LOVE!
… in this ever changing and unstable world…it’s good to know we have a stabilizing and unchanging rock of ages…Jesus Christ…to rely on…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
19 Aug 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a pathway that led directly to God's presence, a simple heartfelt prayer, blessings can both be bestowed and taken away, brought up my soul from the grave, despise not the chastening of the Lord, get too big for our britches, give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness, hast not made my foes to rejoice over me, health to your navel, hear O lord and have mercy, humble and obedient, I will extol thee O Lord, I will give thanks unto thee for ever, increase my awareness of you today, joy cometh in the morning, kept me alive, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, Lord be thou my helper, LOVE, marrow to your bones, not too proud to beg, obey God and leave all the consequences to him, quiet my soul, shall the dust praise thee, sing unto the Lord O ye saints, slow my thoughts, thank you for this tenderness, that I may know you all the more, the Lord is no respecter of persons, thous hast lifted me up, turned my mourning into dancing, weeping may endure for a night, what profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit, whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth
Psalm 30:5b. …weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
And it’s a cool and windy but sunshiny lazy-day Saturday! So there’s nothing to complain about; just oodles of time to laze around in good weather. (smile) Unfortunately though, some of us don’t have that luxury, we have to be about our Father’s business. And since my lazy time has been cut short, I’ll be selfish and take you along with me. So please accompany me as we declare (yesss!!!) our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer.
Altogether now. ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
And without fail, that simple, heartfelt prayer touched something in me, opened up a pathway, as it were, that led directly to God’s awesome presence. It’s the kind of thing that happens when you open up your heart to the Lord and pour out all that’s in it. When you pray for things like God’s unceasing nearness, His awesome LOVE and peace, and the ability to know Him more, His presence just naturally shows up and quietens our hearts. It’s like Bruh David cried out in Psalm 30 – Praise for God’s Holiness.
He unashamedly proclaims: ‘I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave (Sheol, the place of the dead): thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit (grave).’ (Ps. 30:1-3) Yes friends, it’s the Lord who keeps us and our souls alive and refreshed, and not mired in the pit of unrighteousness.
Therefore, as Bruh David continues: ‘Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness (His holy name). For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.’ (Ps. 30:4-5) And how wonderful is that eh my fellow believers? It certainly is, for there’s no other god like our God, who doesn’t retain His anger at us, or hold our sins over our heads for ever and ever. But for that very reason we have to be humble and not boast or be prideful when we receive the Lord’s favour.
As Bruh David said: ‘And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved (shaken). Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. I cried to thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication. What profit is there in my blood when I go down to the pit (grave)? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord be thou my helper.’ (Ps. 30:6-10)
Ah my fellow saints, you see how quickly the Lord can take away His favour if we allow His goodness to make us become proud and haughty. Regardless of how much favour and LOVING-kindness our God pours out on us, He expects us to remain humble and obedient to His every word, not get too big for our britches and stop considering or forget where our prosperity came from.
But sadly, that’s something way too many of us do. The Lord blesses us, and we are joyful at the moment, but soon forget it, or become so accustomed to His blessings that they longer move us the way they ought to. But please remember that just as blessings can be bountifully bestowed, they can also become non-existent if our behaviour becomes inappropriate. Remember too that the Lord is no respecter of persons; be we big or small, weak or strong, our positions in life doesn’t matter. It’s all about how we react to Him and His favour.
So, apparently Bruh David got a li’l too big for his britches and the Lord removed His favour, which troubled him, and he came back crying for help, for mercy. But even that shows the kind of person Bruh David was. He wasn’t too proud to beg when he’d done wrong. But some of us are so proud and arrogant, that even when we know we’ve done wrong, be it before the Lord or our fellow man, we refuse to apologize and/or ask for mercy. We’re just so full of ourselves and our supposed importance that apologizing or asking for mercy and help are beneath us. But that’s why we suffer so many setbacks and disappointments.
Meanwhile those who drop the false pride and ask for forgiveness and help, usually receive it, because our God is a forgiving and merciful God when He sees the sincerity of our hearts. Consequently, Bruh David could afford to write: ‘Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth (the ragged clothes of my mourning), and girded me with gladness. To the end that my glory (my soul) may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.’ (Ps. 30:11-12) And that’s how it ought to be my people!
Now the scholars tell us that there’s no certainty of when and for what purpose the Psalm was written, but ‘In later Judaism the psalm was used in the celebration of Hanukkah (the Jewish festival at Christmas) and at the presentation of firstfruits. The main idea of the psalm, in any case, is clearly expressed: Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing (vs.11). The joy and thanks voiced in the final two verses, however, are only the aftermath of David’s thanks (vs. 1-5) for the Lord’s chastening hand on a boastful servant (vs. 6-10).’
Please friends, let’s remember God’s awesome truth this lazy-day Saturday. ‘And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children (sons). My son, despise not thou the chastening (discipline) of the Lord, nor faint (be discouraged) when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the LOVETH he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.’ (Heb. 12:5-6)
Now that’s a most appropriate scripture for us to end on today. So, I implore us to spend some of our lazy-day Saturday meditating, contemplating and pondering on it. ‘It shall be health to our navels (bodies), and marrow (strength or refreshment) to our bones.’ (smile) (Prov. 3:8) Much LOVE!
… as our dear departed Uncle Charles (Dr. Charles Stanley) would say…the best way to live this life…is to obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him…
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29 Jul 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: always seek God's will and favour, blessed be thou Lord God our father, both riches and honour come of thee, established it upon the floods, founded it upon the seas, get ahead of ourselves, God created the heaven and the earth, high is thy right hand, I may know you all the more, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, in the beginning, in thy name shall they rejoice all the day, increase my awareness of you today, justice and judgement, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, LOVE, mercy and truth shall go before thy face, right down to the nitty gritty, slow my thoughts, soar like the mighty eagle, strong is thy hand, thank you for this tenderness, the earth also is thine, the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the habitation of your throne, the heavens are thine, the Holy One of Israel is our King, the Lord is our defence, the world and they that dwell therein, thine O lord is the power and the glory, thirst and hunger to know God more, thou rulest the raging sea, with all sincerity of heart mind body and soul, your love both surrounds and fills me
Psalm 24:1. The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
And what a perfect way to begin a lazy-day Saturday: dark and cloudy, raining and somewhat humid! Yes friends, that fits in very well with the kind of Saturday morning we desire, where there are no pressing circumstances to attend to, and one can simply take one’s time to do anything…or nothing. (smile) Anyway, my lazy time for this morning has already been used up by lying in bed, so it now behooves me to get to the Father’s business. Therefore, let’s now offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with all sincerity of heart, mind, body and soul.
As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’
Now, that’s cutting straight to the chase. No messing about with a whole lot of unnecessary, flowery words, but getting right down the nitty gritty, letting the Lord know how much we LOVE, desire and need Him, how grateful we are for His awesome presence and nearness in our lives, the way He comforts and relaxes us, and He’s oh awesome and amazing that we just thirst and hunger to know Him more, to get ever closer to His magnificent person that just overflows with LOVING-kindness!
Wow! There’s certainly no other God as wonderful as our God Jehovah! In fact, there’s no other God BUT our God Jehovah! All other supposed gods are fakes and failures, dead to the world! The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the One True and Living God in existence, the One who made the universe and all therein! And if you don’t believe me, then listen to these words of Bruh David from Psalm 24, which prove my declaration. (steups!!!) Read with me: ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods (rivers).’ (Ps. 24:1-2)
Meanwhile Ethan the Ezrahite writes in Psalm 89: ‘O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee? Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them. Thou hast broken Rahab (Egypt) in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm. The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fullness thereof, thou hast founded them. The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon (mountains) shall rejoice in thy name.
Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand. Justice and judgement (righteousness and justice) are the habitation (foundation) of thy throne: mercy (LOVING-kindness) and truth shall go before thy face. Blessed are the people who know that joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn (strength) shall be exalted. For the Lord is our defence: and the Holy One of Israel is our king.’ (Ps. 89:8-18)
Oh my fellow saints, what a magnificent and magnanimous God we serve! A God whose foundation is based on truth, justice and LOVE! And the truth is that I wasn’t planning to include so much of the psalm, possibly just verses 11and 12, but when I read all that beautiful and powerful description about our great God, I just had to include it. (smile)
And my people, we can never know too much about wonderful God or give Him enough glory. So please, wherever, whenever and however we encounter God’s praises, let’s take serious note of them and file them in our hearts so that later on we can bring them to remembrance and use them for His glory and our praise. That takes us to another great passage of scripture extolling God’s greatness, where Bruh David blesses the Lord, as the Israelites generously made their offerings to build God’s temple.
Read with me: ‘Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation: And David said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.’ (1 Chr. 29:10-13)
Oh friends, what a powerful exaltation on our wonderful God’s behalf! And the beauty of it all is that Bruh David knew in spades what he was talking about, because all throughout his long, interesting and contrary life, he felt the power of God working in and for him. And the same thing will happen to us if we stand up strong and live for the Lord the way Bruh David did! He wasn’t perfect, but through thick and thin, He made the Lord his constant companion, always seeking His will and His favour.
And that’s all the Lord asks of us yes: to seek His will and favour. But we’re so rebellious and so intent on doing our own thing because of our free will, that we often stumble and fall, and only then become wise and cry out to the Lord for help. But friends, a lot of those mistakes can be avoided if we wake up and walk with the Lord right from the very beginning.
But no, we foolishly want to spread our wings and fly in our own strength, forgetting that we’re not birds, who were meant for that purpose. We were made to walk, and the only way we could ever fly, even like the lowly sparrow, much less soar like the mighty eagle, is with the help and strength of Almighty God. Please, let’s remember that when we try to get ahead of ourselves. Much LOVE!
…in the beginning…God created the heaven and the earth… (Gen. 1:1)
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