The Sovereignty of Jehovah God over the Universe He Created!

07 Mar 2025 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 103:19.        The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.

Wow! It’s Friday already! The first week in March is finished. Time is simply whisking by, waiting for no one, so we had better pay close attention to it, if we don’t want to get left behind, inhaling its flying dust! (smile) But be that as it may, it’s a beautiful sunny day in my neighbourhood with temps a tad on the lower side, still above freezing, but not as cold as it’s been the last couple of days. And after all the shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ we have an interesting weekend to look forward to with mostly sunshine promised by the weather people. 

And is that ever good news, because we need some sunshine and clear skies after enduring the damp and cloudy weather for a while. But here’s some even better news: the Lord God Jehovah is still on His throne, sovereign and omnipotent, in total control of the affairs of men. Thus, we can be assured of this most encouraging verse of scripture: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’ (Rom. 8:28) 

Now, if God is not in total control, then that verse is without any assurance whatsoever. However, since we know for a fact that our heavenly Father sits upon His throne on high and runs things to suit His plans and purposes, we can most definitely rely on the truthfulness and assurance of that mighty verse of scripture. And how do we know that the Lord is omnipotent and in control? 

Listen to these words of that great prophet, Bruh David. He writes in Psalm 103: ‘The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all. Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers (servants) of his, that do his pleasure. Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion.’ (Ps. 103:19-22) 

Yes friends, as Bruh David says earlier on in Psalm 24: ‘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) More assurance that the Lord did establish the world and all therein and still controls it with the power of His mighty Spirit. Satan, or no other demon can ever take it from His hands, for they are all pretenders, but the Lord our God is the real thing, the real McCoy! 

As Bruh David ends Psalm 24 with these awesome proclamations: ‘Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.’ (Ps. 24:7-10) Now that’s who is the mightiest in this universe! 

And if perchance you don’t believe Bruh David, then listen to the Sons of Korah from Psalm 47 titled – Exalt the Lord Most High. They totally proclaim: ‘Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding. God reigneth over the heathen (Gentiles): God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness. The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.’ (Ps. 47:6-9) 

And the scholars inform us that the last verses of the Psalm, 7-9, reveal that God’s kingship is destined to be universal. And they speak prophetically of the time when the Lord Jesus will reign on earth. Now we all know that the Bible, especially the Book of Revelation promises that. So my fellow believers, how can we not accept the verity of the scriptures eh, when Bruh Paul loudly declares: ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto (equipped with) all good works.’ (1 Tim. 3:16-17) 

Now,  if you’re a true believer, you will know that’s the gospel truth! The Word of the Lord was given to us as a Guidebook for earthly living, and if we don’t follow it as closely as possible, then we will not live the abundant life that Christ died for us to have. And if you still don’t believe that our God reigns supreme over the universe He created, then listen to these two snippets from the Book of Daniel where he interprets the dream of the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. 

In the first verse Daniel tells him the dream is a doing of God; ‘that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest (lowest) of men.’ (Dan. 4:17b) And the next snippet from verse 25 tells Neb because of his disobedience and pride, he will go mad and behave like wild beasts for seven years, before he recovers, ‘till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.’ (Dan. 4:25b) 

Oh my fellow saints, that should make us all think twice about our God’s sovereignty and power. And since, in these ungodly and evil times we need His help so badly, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking as much of that miracle working power as possible. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough…  because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. 

Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. 

We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

And per our prayer, divine aid will come when we stop behaving like wannabe believers and truly become faithful believers. Much LOVE!

…If God is not omnipotent and in total control…then our faith is worthless…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 August 2020 Matthew 6:19.

01 Aug 2020 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 6:19.     ​Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal:
 

Saturday, oh Saturday! Thou lazy, lumbering but oh so beautiful day! How I do LOVE thee! And I won’t stop to count the ways, because there would be just too many! (smile) Yeh friends, Saturday is one of our favourite days because it invokes the spirit of laziness and do nothing, but also of partying… that is when we could party. I guess we can do it some now with the stage 3 ease in the current Covid-19 lockdown. Let’s hope that we don’t overdo it and spoil the good thing we have going. You know that’s one of our favourite tendencies in this age of overdoing. 

But be that as it may, today is Saturday, so let’s check out the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week nuh, as he aspires to inspire us to a better tomorrow. And this first one is a doozy. (smile) ‘Don’t handicap your children by making their lives easy.’ Now isn’t that what our generation has done in spades! We’ve made life so easy for our children that they believe they are entitled to an easy life, and are the biggest whiners on the planet! They have no belly or backbone because they have not gone through any real hard times, and it’s only difficulties that build resilience and stick-to-itiveness! 

We’ve made them so soft, given them what they want, or what the advertising agencies said they needed and thus spoiled them rotten. Oh, I can understand our desire to not make their lives as difficult as many of ours were, but that difficulty is what made us strong and determined, and by removing most of the difficulty in their lives we’ve done them a great injustice, because now, when they face difficulties, many of them can’t cope. That’s why so many of them are seeing shrinks and are on psych meds at an early age and contend so much with suicidal thoughts, especially when confronted with the evil that’s found in social media. 

And the next quote wisely proclaims: ‘The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.’ Now there’s an awesome lot of truth in that saying! When we confront big problems, or that mighty mountain we desire to move, it’s advisable to begin with the small tasks, which are always present, and work our way up to the big ones. That makes our lives easier and our problems less difficult to solve. It makes no sense to try and remove the entire mountain all at once. (smile) You’d notice that even with the great earth removing equipment we have nowadays, they still remove the big mountains one shovel full, or one relatively small piece at a time, never the whole thing at once. 

Then there’s this: ‘He who is untrue to his own cause cannot command the respect of others.’ Now that ought to be pure common sense! How can you espouse a cause then not be true to it and expect others to respect you eh? But unfortunately that happens a lot in these modern times. I don’t know if the causes are never truly espoused and just being used as facades for other stuff. But there are so many varied causes being espoused nowadays, that it’s become very difficult to know whom to trust, and often wise not to trust any of them. It’s so sad that so many people are not who they say they are, or what they are about. 

Consequently there’s so much disrespect and distrust and lack of faith in our society that we have to be ever so careful of whom we deal with. That leads us to this quote. ‘Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform (or pause and reflect).’ Now I’m not sure what that the author really means by that statement. For if you consider our way of life that we term democracy, basically meaning that the majority wins, then it doesn’t make sense. 

On the other hand, I guess one can consider it to mean that being in the majority is not a good thing. In some way it belittles or demeans you, because only the minority knows what’s best, are capable of ruling. I guess that’s why so many li’l cliques are ruling so many things in our world. (smile) But seriously though, I don’t know if there’s ever a bad time to reform or pause and reflect, because none of us are perfect, which means we all have room for improvement in all kinds of areas of our lives. 

And the last quote says: ‘Nothing is forever. Everything goes to 0 eventually.’ Technically speaking that’s not quite true, because eternity lasts forever. (smile) However, in the affairs of men, nothing really lasts forever; be they relationships, businesses, buildings, possessions, even societies come and go. Just look at all the great societies that have populated the planet over time. All of them eventually fell into decay and many disappeared completely, as will our current powerful one that’s now in sad decline and decay. I guess you can call it the nature of the beast. 

And that’s why Jesus gave us this all-important warning. ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal:’ (Matt. 6:19) Oh friends, what great wisdom is contained in those words! The treasures of earth are those that will not last forever, they will either get stolen or naturally rust and decay, because that’s just the nature of earthly things. Even the earth won’t last forever and is in a state of constant change with things like earthquakes and volcanoes and other natural disasters constantly changing and destroying it. 

No wonder Cousin Sol also advised: ‘Labour not to be rich (do not overwork): cease from thine own wisdom.’ (Prov. 23:4) For it’s all vanity, useless in the long run. Then Jesus gives us the real truth of the matter. ‘But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves do not break through nor steal.’ (Matt. 6:20) Yes mih people, the one place that will not see any destruction and last forever is heaven! Glory be! That’s why Jesus pointed us in that direction. ‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Matt. 6:21) And that’s the living truth. Wherever our treasure is stored, that’s where our focus will be. 

As the scholars explain: ‘6:19-21. The attention of the believer is directed toward treasures in heaven. The term ‘treasures’ implies the addition or accumulation of things. The two kinds of treasures are conditioned by their place (either on earth or in heaven). The concept of laying up treasures in heaven is not pictured as one of meritorious benefits but rather as rewards for faithful service, as is illustrated elsewhere in the teaching of Jesus.’ 

Oh friends, treasures can indeed be useful and valuable, but the sad fact of the matter is that the earthly ones don’t last or get us very far, they all leave us, or we leave them when the grim reaper comes a-calling. So we can enjoy them for a while, but should not set our hearts desires on them, but rather be more concerned with the treasures, the rewards that we can accumulate in heaven for faithful service in Jesus’ name, because those are the only real treasures that exist, that are worth working towards and the only ones which will last forever. Much LOVE!

…where’s our heart looking eh…to earth or heaven… 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 August 2018 2 Corinthians 5:20.

02 Aug 2018 Leave a comment

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

2 Corinthians 5:20.   Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray (implore) you in Christ’s stead (behalf), be ye reconciled to God.

So it’s Thursday…what’s new eh friends? I guess most of us will say the same old, same old. And we may be right, because that’s what life mainly consists of. However, with Jesus ‘ Spirit dwelling within us, we have the opportunity, the privilege to take that same old and turn it into something bright and beautiful! 

Yeh friends, if we have heaven and all that extraordinary stuff to look forward to, from now till the end of time, then we should at least be able to put a pleasant smile on our faces and have a good attitude in our hearts, because that’s how our Lord and Saviour, our Leader Jesus Christ walked while He was here on earth, and followers are supposed to show the same example as their leaders. 

And in keeping with that philosophy, here is some wise advice from the ‘First Lady of American Theater,’ Helen Hayes (1900-1993). She dispenses that ‘Positive attitudes – optimism, high self-esteem, and outgoing nature, joyousness, and the ability to cope with stress – when established early in life, may be the most important basis for continued good health.’ 

And that’s no lie friends, for whatever you’re building needs a strong foundation. And in the affairs of men, the earlier you build that strong foundation the better off you will be, the better able you will be to handle life. 

Like the Redwood trees in California that grow to enormous heights and live for a long time because they have put down long, strong roots in the earth in their formative years, so too we need to have a solid root system if we intend to live long and make a difference in this life. 

And each believer in Christ is expected to make a difference in this life, be it big or small. Why? Because as Bruh Paul tells the Corinthians in our Bit: ‘Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray (implore) you in Christ’s stead (behalf), be ye reconciled to God.’ 

Yes my fellow believers, we are ALL ambassadors for Christ! And ambassadors have certain rules and regulations to obey, and a certain type of behaviour to exhibit because they are representatives of a higher authority and ought to do so in a proper manner. That means behaving with dignity and a calm spirit and not bringing shame and disgrace on their higher ups. 

Likewise, as ambassadors of Christ, we have the responsibility to behave in a manner consistent with Jesus’ mandate and not bring negative consequences to His organization. And in Christ’s organization, His church, we do that by being faithful to His principles. 

First and foremost is the principle of LOVE; God’s defining attribute from which flow a whole lot of other things, like kindness, helpfulness, mercy, forgiveness, grace, joy, peace, long- suffering, faith, meekness, temperance (self-control). Those are things that Bruh Paul define as the fruit of the Spirit, and are expected to be a major part of a believer’s life.  

And you’ll notice my believing brethren that none of those attributes or behaviour is a mainstay of today’s world. Instead, the world glorifies all the opposites of those spiritual fruit, with the resultant consequence that it is a morass of greed, poverty, sickness, murder, strife, warfare, anger and all sorts of evil doings. 

Now that’s not what our Jesus wants to see in His world. Remember He came to save the lost and downtrodden, and there are way too many of those in our current world. Thus, as His representatives, we are called to show a different attitude, a better example to this sinful world, a more graceful and LOVING persona. 

We also need to spread His faithful Word to all and sundry, so that the lost and suffering will see what they are missing by not being a part of His kingdom and will reach out, cry out to Him for help. That’s our mandate, our bounden duty my brethren. 

And Jesus has given us some awesome tools to work with, namely our Thursday Blessings. So let’s proclaim them now nuh, to remind us of them, and to claim their awesome power, because the Word of God unleashes a mighty stream of power when spoken out loud. 

All together now in strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! 

I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’ 

Yes friends, what awesome tools and blessings! Now let’s go out and put them to full use, sharing them with the less fortunate, as Jesus so greatly desires of us. Much LOVE!

…Jesus never sends His workers out…without the right tools to do His work…

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 21 October 2016 Psalm 46:1.

21 Oct 2016 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 46:1.    God is our refuge and strength, a very present (an abundantly available) help in trouble.

So how do we begin this morning eh friends? I don’t have a clue as to how to engage your attention on this cloudy Friday morning in the fall of 2016, except to say: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the workweek is almost done! The weekend is here…

Give God the glory for that, because if the slave master had his way, we’d work seven days a week. Steups! The greedy fool! But thanks be to God for the weekend where we can do as we please… And am I going to live it up? You could bet yuh bottom dollar on that! Just watch me!’ 

Ah mih people, just like us eh? We go from one extreme to the other, from working too hard to partying too hard. But that only causes undue stress, burn out and eventually illness. What we need is some kind of balance in our lives, and our Friday Chant gives us direction on that. 

So let’s chant it 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.’ 

Yes friends, rest, relaxation, fellowship and play are all necessary for us to live full and godly lives, but we need to mix them in the right proportion, don’t over do any of them. And if we find it difficult to get the right mix, the right balance, there is always our great God to turn to for advice and help. 

What does our Bit say: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present (an abundantly available) help in trouble.’ And that’s the living truth in a nutshell! 

Our Creator and Provider is always there for us. In times of trouble we only need to call upon Him with a sincere heart and He will guide us to victory. Remember, He promises never to leave nor forsake us, and He stands by His promises. 

And my brethren, we all have problems that we can’t solve, or handle, so there is no shame or disgrace in turning to the Lord for help. In fact, that’s what He wants us to do; come to Him for every purpose in life, be they big or small. The Lord wants to be an integral part of our lives, involved in EVERYTHING that we do. 

But foolishly, we only want to allow Him to become involved in certain things, the others we want to deal with ourselves. Unfortunately though precious people, the Lord doesn’t work like that. He wants to be involved in ALL or NOTHING AT ALL! 

So please, let’s check our lives and see if there are any areas that we are keeping God out of nuh, and then wisely invite Him to be a part of those areas. Yuh know that might be a part of our problem, why our lives aren’t going right at the moment; God isn’t totally involved in them. 

Now let’s check out some scripture which reinforces our Bit. Hear Moses as he exhorts Israel to obedience. ‘For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh (a God so near) unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call him for? 

And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgements so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?’ (Deut.4:7-8) 

And the answer to both questions friends is NONE! Truly, there is no other God who is so involved, who takes such great interest in the affairs of men! And that’s the way it ought to be. We don’t need a God who is far off, unconcerned about our trials and tribulations, but one who is around when we need help. 

Listen to Bruh David from Psalm 3 – A prayer of confidence in God – as he cries out in despair. ‘Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God.   Selah. But thou, O Lord, art a shield for (around) me; my glory, and the lifter up of (the one who lifts up) mine head. 

I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill (mountain).   Selah. I laid down and slept; I awaked: for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.’ (Ps.3:2-6) 

Oh what a glorious God we serve my people! That’s the kind of confidence He instills in us when we walk obedient to His will! So I really can’t understand why we refuse to walk steadfastly with Him. There is so much to be derived from a genuine walk with Christ, that it would take me a whole day to list them. (smile) 

Now let’s go home with these wonderful words of Bruh David echoing in our minds, souls, bodies and hearts. From Psalm 145 – the Lord is gracious – he faithfully proclaims. ‘The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy (gracious) in all his works. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. 

He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. The Lord preserveth all them that LOVE him: but all the wicked will he destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.’ (Ps.145:17-21) 

Wow! Oh my fellow believers right there we have the gospel truth in black and white! Please, please, I implore us, let’s take it heart nuh, so that our lives can be fulfilled! Let’s continually praise our wonderful God and bless His holy name at all times, for that is wisdom at its highest level! Much LOVE!

…praise Him, praise Him…Glory Hallelujah…He is LOVE…He is LOVE…