The Overwhelming Importance of Constant, Confident Faith and Humility in a Christian’s Walk with God!

28 Dec 2024 Leave a comment

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

Jeremiah 29:13.       And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye search for me with all your heart.

So, at long last, through all the carryings ons of Christmas week, we’ve finally come to our lazy-day Saturday, where we can take a break, relax and catch our breath, wind down, until it’s time to wind back up for the New Year’s celebrations next week. Wow! What a crazy time the Christmas and New Year seasons are, with little or no respite from the joyful celebrations. 

But please, let’s take a moment to remember that a great portion of our world is either surrounded by man-made strife and chaos, or they have recently been inflicted by natural disaster, so they are in no position to engage in the celebrations that we take for granted. It’s so sad, when so much of the earth’s population are not able to enjoy the joyful time that Christ’s birth brings. 

And it’s unfortunate that most of us cannot do more than pray for them to be soon extricated from their untenable situations. But let’s not forget that prayer is one of the most powerful forces on God’s great earth, and therefore can move mountains if we truly believe, have even as little faith as a mustard seed. That means we cannot stop praying for those who are not as fortunate as us. It’s our godly responsibility. 

Now, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer in 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 friends, it never ceases to amaze me how quickly after saying that prayer, something like a veil… or aura of peace comes down and settles in my soul. Not that I didn’t have peace before, but now it’s somewhat heightened, and my soul and spirit seem much lighter than before. And if your prayer was sincere, then I know that you also feel that heightened sense of peace and comfort. 

Why? Because that’s the amazing power of sincere and heartfelt prayer! It just speaks to the great communication we can have with our wonderful God Jehovah, if we are obedient to His will and regularly seek His face. What did He say to the people of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah, when they were in captivity in Babylon? 

After promising to return them to Jerusalem seventy years later, Jeremiah announced: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope). Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto (listen to) you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer. 29:11-13) 

Oh my people, right there is one of the most provocative and thought provoking promises of the Bible! If we seek the Lord with all of our heart, we will certainly find Him! It could not be any simpler than that. So why are so many of us still wishy-washy, uncertain, vague, unsure in seeking God eh? That’s obviously not in our best interest, because God doesn’t like double- minded or doubtful people. 

As James tells us in his epistle: ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (without reproach); and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (not doubting). For he that wavereth (doubts) is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.’ (James 1:5-8) 

Yes my brethren, when we become the sons and daughters of God, we ought not to have too many doubts about Him, or our circumstances, for He’s promised to meet all of our needs to according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19) And also that He will work everything out for our good eventually. (Rom. 8:28) That means acknowledging and believing His faithfulness in His promises. 

What does Hebrews tell us on the subject of faith? ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him (God): for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ (Heb. 11:6) There again we have the premise of diligently seeking God. And I believe Hebrews also puts the icing on the cake of doubt, wisdom, believe and faith with these marvellous words, regarding our great High Priest, Jesus. 

‘Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into (through) the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession (confession). For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched (sympathize) with the feeling of our infirmities (our weaknesses); but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in the time of need.’ (Heb. 4:14-16) 

Oh my fellow saints, nothing can be better than that! We have an high priest, an advocate, one seeking our best interests before the throne of God, and the best part is that He understands and appreciates our weaknesses and frailties because He too was buffeted by sin while on earth, but He remained sinless. And there’s no one better to go to for help than one who’s already experienced your misfortune and thus can personally understand what you’re going through. 

However, before we close, there’s one proviso to all of our conversation, that is, though we can go boldly or confidently to the throne of grace, we cannot go arrogantly or haughtily, for if there’s anything the Lord dislikes it’s pride. As Cousin Sol says so rightly in Proverbs, a proud look is an abomination to Him. (Prov. 6:16-17) And furthermore: ‘An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing (lamp) of the wicked, is sin.’ (Prov. 21:4)

So in all our doings with the Lord, we must ensure that our humility is in place, and we respect His sovereignty. Now that doesn’t mean we have to cower and be afraid. No, it just means that we must know our place. (smile) And we if we do, while seeking Him diligently and confidently, then our lives will be filled with the abundance that Christ died for us to have! Much LOVE!

…if you truly desire to have God in your life…then you need to…diligently search for Him…with all of your heart…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   10 June 2023 Luke 18:1.

10 Jun 2023 Leave a comment

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

Luke 18:1.       And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought to pray and not faint (give up).

So, at last it’s our lazy-day Saturday, dry and warm and partly sunny in my area, according to my computer. But whatever the weather conditions, we can still bask in that lazy, idle time that Saturday affords us…well at least some of us. (smile) 

Anyway, let’s set the stage by saying our Lazy-day Saturday Prayer. 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!’ 

Ah friends, the awesome power of prayer! Yes, at times it can be truly awesome!  And I’m sure that we all felt a lessening or decreasing of our tension and anxiety as we said those few sincere words. Our spirits just sighed and relaxed because of that interaction with Almighty God. And it’s truly unfortunate that so many of us do not know the real amazing power of prayer, otherwise our lives would be so much more fulfilled. 

And the truth is that prayer’s not some magical element in the believer’s arsenal, but just simply a means of communicating, or talking to our heavenly Father, the One who created us and still LOVES us with such unlimited passion that He sent His Son Jesus to die for us, so that we could be reconciled back to him. And prayer is just the awesome privilege of being able to talk with, to take all our problems to the omnipotent Lord of the universe, who is interested in any and everything that happens to his creation. 

Why do you think that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, while he was here on earth spake a parable to his listeners to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint or give up? (Luke 18:1) Because prayer is good for the soul, and it takes us into the Father’s presence and allows us to lay our problems before Him. 

And although Jesus was a part of the Triune Godhead, while down here on earth, He also left us that example of regular prayer. He prayed all about, at all different times. The gospel of Mark even tells us: ‘And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary (deserted) place, and there prayed.’ (Mark 1:35) So if Jesus found it necessary and useful to pray, who are we mere creations to think otherwise eh? 

Prayer is essential when we get up in the morning to give thanks for been allowed the privilege of seeing another glorious day on God’s great earth, and also when we lay our heads on the pillow at nights, to give thanks for making it through another day. And then during the day, every so often we ought to remember our Creator and tell Him thanks for whatever is happening with us, or ask him for help to handle whatever we’re doing. 

We ought to do nothing whatsoever without first consulting Him. That’s why Bruh Paul tells us to ‘Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.’ (1 Thess. 5:17-18) And the scholars explain those verses thus: ‘In every event or circumstance (thing) the Christian is to give thanks to God for the good He can bring out of the event, even should the event be unpleasant. The constant attitude of prayer, mentioned in verse 17, will help the believer to maintain gratitude in the face of adversity.’ 

And that’s the indisputable truth my fellow believers! When we are always in, for want of a better phrase, prayer mode, we can handle adversity much better than when we’re not, because we know that God is in control and that in due course, He will work everything out for our good, as promised in Romans 8:28. ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.’ 

So, if you’re a believer, then eventually everything will work out for your good in God’s time and way. And until you truly believe that, your spirit will have no rest, just anxious moments worrying about what’s going to happen in any and every circumstance. 

Now prayer is good, but then it should not be used to show off one’s supposed righteousness, like Jesus warns. ‘And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites (pretenders) are: for they LOVE to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet (inner room), and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which seeth in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.’ (Matt. 5:5-8) 

Yes friends, we don’t need to make a spectacle of ourselves by praying all about the place, although nothing is wrong with public prayer in general, and when it is called for. Jesus Himself prayed in public on several occasions, for instance when he blessed the food before feeding the 5,000 in Matthew 14 and the 4,000 in Matthew 15. He taught his disciples to pray publicly in Luke 11:1-4, and in John 11:41-42, before He raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus prayed aloud so that the crowd could hear him. So public prayer is not bad, it’s just should not be done to attract attention to our supposed godliness. 

And this last warning from Jesus: ‘But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do; for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.’ (Matt. 6:7-8) Ah mih bredrin, long speeches and repetitions will not get you heard any more or any quicker than short to the point prayers. Then Jesus went on to give us an example of prayer, we call the Lord’s Prayer, or Our Father, which can be found in Matt. 6:9-15. And I’d suggest we open our Bibles and read it, to make my words come alive in our spirits. (smile) 

Oh my people, prayer is indeed the greatest privilege we have as believers in Christ Jesus, and we just have to read the gospels and see how often Jesus prayed, and in all the different places and occasions to realize how important it was to Him. And as I said earlier, if it was so important to the Son of God to pray to His heavenly Father while down here on earth, how much more important it is for us to be doing the same thing. 

And as in most things in this life, one will never really find out the truth until one practices whatever it is, and then experiences the results for oneself. So don’t just believe me, or anybody else about the great value in prayer, please try it yourself. You won’t ever stop. I can guarantee you that! Much LOVE!

… prayer…communication between man and God… 

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ