12 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: auspices, Beelzebub, believe it to see it, chimerical, christ jesus, compassions, contented, correction, deceit, destroyed, evil purposes, faith, faithfulness, furnished unto good works, God's great earth, God's will, God's Word, godliness, great is thy faithfulness, heartwarming, holy, Holy Scriptures, illusory, inspiration of God, Lamentations, live, living the life, Lord God Jehovah, LOVE, lusts of the flesh, material possessions, maturity, meditating, mercies, mirrors, money, moths, obedience, oral instruction, patience, perfect, perks, planned it, praying, prince of darkness, profitable for doctrine, reading, reassuring, reproof, reverence, righteous, righteousness., rust, salvation, sleight of hand, spiritual life, steal your soul, the BIBLE, the good fight of faith, the man of God, treasures in heaven, wisdom, working for good
2 Timothy 3:17. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.
Oh friends, another day on God’s great earth is dawning in our hemisphere, whether we like it or not. Hn! That’s how God, in His infinite wisdom planned it, and we have no say whatsoever in the matter. The only choice we have is how we live, how we spend this day that the Lord has so graciously granted us.
We can either live it under the auspices of Beelzebub, enjoying the lusts of the flesh and the material possessions of this evil world. Or we can choose to dwell under the righteous and holy auspices of the Lord God Jehovah, Maker of heaven and earth and all therein.
Now, I believe that the latter choice is the better one. First of all, the stuff of Beelzebub doesn’t last, can be destroyed by rust and moths etc., plus you can’t take any of it when you depart this life. And besides, a lot of Beelzebub’s work is done through deceit, sleight of hand and mirrors, only giving you the impression that you actually have something good, when in fact you have nothing at all; just a chimerical, illusory state.
However, with Almighty God, you have the ability to store up treasures in heaven, which you can’t do in hell. And secondly, living under the mighty hand of God also brings new perks each and every day. Glory Hallelujah! You certainly don’t get new blessings every day from the evil prince of darkness; he just tries to steal your soul or keep you locked up in darkness to suit his evil purposes.
As Jeremiah reminds us in his Lamentations: ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’ (Lam.3:22-23).
Oh my fellow believers it is so good, so heartwarming and reassuring to see our heavenly Father working diligently for good in our lives every day. And don’t forget, He is the epitome of faithfulness, He will NEVER let us down under any circumstances, which obviously can’t be said about our evil enemy who roams the earth like a roaring lion, looking for those whom he might devour.
That brings us to our Bit, Bruh Paul’s admonishment to his young protégé Timothy. ‘That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’
And how do we get to be like that? By praying, reading and meditating on the scriptures and living the life it espouses.
As Bruh Paul explains before our Bit: ‘But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.’ (2Tim.3:14-16)
And the scholars illuminate us thus: ‘3:14-17. Continue literally means “remain.” The things which thou hast learned were his oral instruction in the holy scriptures (the Old Testament, here) by his mother (Eunice) and grandmother (Lois). Inspiration of God (Gr. theopneustos, lit. “God-breathed) describes the unique character of Scripture. It is not only written by men, but authored by God.
For doctrine means to tell one what to believe. For reproof means to tell one what is wrong. For correction means to tell one how to correct wrong. For instruction in righteousness means to tell one how to live. Perfect (Gr. artios, “proficient, capable”) is having everything needed to do what God wants. Thoroughly furnished means “thoroughly equipped.” God’s inspired Word, properly used and applied, provides all we need for life and ministry.’
I couldn’t say it any better myself friends. And many of us were raised like Timothy, with oral instructions in the scriptures from some family member, friend or Sunday school teacher, which means that the Word of God was planted in our hearts early on in our lives, so it’s nothing new to us, however we need to continue studying it, so that we will know how to live a godly life as adults.
That’s because the Word is a complete set of instructions on how to live this life. We don’t need anything else beside it; just wisely and diligently follow its instructions and we’ll be well covered. I know that many of us might think otherwise, but you’ll never know the truth until you try it.
Remember in Jesus’ realm, you have to believe it before you see it. That means to have trust and faith in Jesus, regardless of the situation. Again, that’s how the Lord planned His realm and we have no real say in the matter; is either we accept it or not. And we’d be foolish not to accept it, because there’s no faithfulness to be had in Beelzebub’s realm. The word doesn’t exist in his vocabulary. So that’s not a very wise place to be in.
Meanwhile, in our Bit, Bruh Paul to a certain extent is reminding Timothy of his earlier words, re the good fight of faith. ‘But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession).’ (1 Tim.6:11-12)
That’s after he warned him about the pitfalls of listening to false teachers and being contented with whatsoever he had, as well as the erroneous and disastrous ‘LOVE of money.’
And we’ll end with some thoughts from the scholars. ‘6:11. Flee these things means shun a LOVE for money (v.10) and the striving for material wealth (v.9) with all its resulting woes. Follow after means pursue. Righteousness is practical correctness, conforming to God’s will in one’s thinking and acting. Godliness is proper reverence for, and obedience to, God. Faith is a trust in God that grows stronger. LOVE is a maturing affection for God and man. Patience is perseverance or steadfastness in life and service. Meekness is gentleness.’
‘6:12. The good fight concerns the daily struggle with sin in the Christian life, and the hardships and adversities in the ministry. A genuine believer demonstrates the reality of his faith by being engaged in this warfare. Lay hold on eternal life does not negate the fact that a believer now possesses spiritual life (John 3:36); rather, it speaks of fully realizing or appropriating salvation as the believer matures.’
So friends, as usual, I’m asking us to ponder all that we’ve read today, then, with God’s help, let us try to improve , to steadily mature as we ought, for that is indeed true wisdom. Much LOVE!
…the Bible is God’s Word to us…still fresh through all the ages…and if we read it…we will find God’s wisdom on its pages…
25 Feb 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a day of rest, a faithful saying, a hammer, a jumble of thoughts, a lamp that guides, a mirror, a sword, abides, abominable iniquity, aches, affirm constantly, asaph, asthma, bends before it, Bibly Study, blessings, born again, bounden duty, breathed life, children of God, Christian, citicenship, contentious, cooperate with God, corrupt, cough, deceit, defeats Satan, disobedient, divers lusts, divine workman, donkey's years, empathy, enticed, envious, envy, ethics, evil, faith, fellowship, flu, foolish, friends, funeral, gentle, glory hallelujah, glory to God, god moves in mysterious ways, God's will, good works, gospel of Christ, grace, hating, holy spirit, human nature, illnesses, imbibed, Jesus Christ, joy, judges sin, kindness, living for Christ, LOVE, LOVE of God, loving kindness, Lucifer, make sense of, malice, material possessions, meekness, mercy, Mt. St. George, new life, newborn, Nicodemus, none that doeth good, pains, Paradise, pay the cost, potholes, powers, principalities, profitable, prosperity, regeneration, resist the wave, reveals sin, righteousness., salvation, sell our soul, stand strong and steadfast, stumbled, surrogate daughters, swept away, talk is cheap, temptation, tentacles, the BIBLE, the fool say in his heart, the likeness of Christ, the wicked, the work of god, there is no god, Titus, treachery, trust, truth, West Indian, winding road., wisdom
Psalm 53:1. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.
Oh friends, there is so much I want to say this beautiful Thursday morning, but I simply can’t say anything! Chuh!
Has that ever happened to you? My mind is a jumble of thoughts and whatever else that I can’t seem to make sense of, but I’m not worried because I know that our great and magnanimous God will eventually look down on me with empathy and guide me to what He wants me to say.
I guess that part of my problem is that I have a touch of the flu and cough that’s causing my asthma to act up a bit. And there’s nothing that drives me bonkers like coughing.
Anyway, I went to the funeral of an old schoolmate yesterday afternoon in Mt. St. George – and now I realize why it’s so named, for we had to drive up a steep, winding road littered with potholes to reach the church, then come another steep winding one to get back to the main road.
It’s a good thing the duchess wasn’t my co-pilot, because I don’t know if we would have made it back safely. (smile)
The funeral was well attended, and I saw people whom I hadn’t seen in donkey’s years (smile). The deceased lived in the U.S but was brought back home to her village for burial, exactly what I want to happen to me.
And to show how our God moves in mysterious ways, he took one home but also breathed life in to a newborn son of one of my surrogate daughters down here. Glory to God!
Now a buddy and I was supposed to go touring today, but it seems that he imbibed a tad too much last night, so he is also under the weather, which means that tour will have to be put off indefinitely.
Ah mih people, my time in sweet Tobago is swiftly drawing to a close, and as the duchess said recently, the problem is not how we’re going to face the cold up in the Northern climes, but how we’re going to leave this paradise? It will definitely be hard, although every day we complain how the sun is so hot.
So I guess today will just be a day of rest and later this evening I’ll go to the Bible Study class up the road. I heard they missed me last week when I was in Trinidad. I missed them too, because it was a spirited gathering, West Indian style. And call me biased, but nothing beats anything, West Indian style! (smile)
Now that’s the end of my news, but before we get to our Bit, I want to share these words of wisdom from one Leviticus, whom I assume was an olden Greek philosopher. And he is reputed to have said that: ‘He who attempts to resist the wave is swept away, but he who bends before it abides.’
And I rediscovered that in reality recently on the beach. I tried to fight off a big wave and it sent me crashing into the sand. But another one, instead of trying to fight it, I rode it successfully into the shore.
The same way it is with life my friends, especially when we are getting up in age and can’t fight all the unusual stuff that’s coming against us; all the aches and pains and illnesses. We have to learn to bend with the tide, if we hope to continue living a full and enjoyable life.
That also means we cannot emulate the people in our Bit. ‘The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.’
Now, though we know better, the prosperity of the wicked can sometimes drive us to want what they have. Listen to the psalmist Asaph, as he discourses in Psalm 73 on the Mystery of Prosperous wickedness.
‘Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean (pure) heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone (I had almost stumbled); my steps had well-nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish (boastful), when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.’ (Ps.73:1-3)
Yes friends, although Asaph knew better, the sinful human nature still enticed him to be envious of the wicked in their earthly prosperity. And unfortunately it still does the same thing to us in these very trying and difficult times.
But we need to see the treachery and deceit of material possession and earthly prosperity for what it really is; ofttimes a temptation of the enemy, and don’t allow it to get us caught up in its wicked tentacles. Because once we sell our soul for those things, it’s not very easy to get out of Lucifer’s contract.
Now hear Bruh Paul to Titus on Christian citizenship and the basis of the Christian ethic. ‘Put them in mind to be subject to principalities (rulers) and powers (authorities), to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work. To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers (not contentious), but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men.
For we ourselves also were sometime foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and LOVE of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed (poured out) on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour. That being justified (declared righteous) by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.’ (Titus 3:1-7)
Yes my fellow believers in Christ, it’s only through God’s grace and mercy and LOVING-kindness, poured out on us through Christ that we are able to withstand the wiles and lies of the evil one. That means we have to stand strong and steadfast in faith if we want to resist the enemy.
Now here is some info from the scholars on the term ‘regeneration.’‘3:5. Regeneration refers to the work of the Holy Spirit in the salvation experience that produces new life in the believer. To express this concept, Jesus used the expression “born again” in His conversation with Nicodemus (John 3:3-7).
Regeneration is the work of God, through the Holy Spirit, of placing in one who has faith a new nature, capable of doing God’s will. The Holy Spirit is the agent or divine workman of this regeneration. His instrument is the Bible, which is likened to a hammer that judges sin (Jer.23:29), a mirror that reveals sin (James 1:23), a sword that defeats Satan (Heb.4:12), and a lamp that guides the believers (Ps.119:105).
Illustration: People are instantaneously “born again “the moment they trust Christ as Saviour. (1 Pet.1:23). Application: Christians should be careful to cooperate with God in growing as children of God after they are regenerated, or given new life. (First Ref. John 3:3), Primary Ref. Titus 3:5. cf. Eph.1:15.).’
Oh friends, only by cooperating with God and growing in the likeness of Christ, can we ever hope to stave off the foolishness and deceit of the enemy! And it will benefit us all, if we looked up the references the scholars provided. (smile)
Now let’s end with some more words of Bruh Paul to Titus. ‘This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.’ (Titus 3:8)
There’s nothing left to say my brethren, except that we should all go out, each and every day, being careful to do works that enhance the gospel of Christ, so that the heathen can see the true beauty in living for Christ and want to come to Him. It’s our bounden duty. Much LOVE!
…talk is cheap…but good works cost something…Christians should be prepared to pay that cost…
P.S. I know it’s long, but God’s word is worth it. (smile) Much LOVE!
17 Feb 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a relationship with Jesus, adversity, apostate, assurance, atonement, Babylon, breath of God, calamity, courage, crying, dark night of sin, day of life, doomed to destruction, downfall, enemy, evil, exile, expectations, Ezra, fades, faith, Feast of Trumpets, final destination, for the joy of the Lord is your strenght, friends, glorious sunshine of Jesus, glory hallelujah, God shall wipe away all tears, God's plan for our lives, going to hell in a hand-basket, happiness, happy, heaven, holy spirit, hope, Hours of Power Devotional, I am halfway home, I'm not looking back, I'm not turning back, indisputable fact, inner peace, Israelites, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the Truth, joy, joyful, joyfulness, kind, LOVE, merciful, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, no more death, paganism, pain, peace, planet earth, pleasure, ponder, robert h schuller, self-esteem, sorrow, steadfastly, superstition, thanks and praise, the BIBLE, the breath of life, the clouds will clear, the former things are passed away, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the law of Moses, the Life, the Light, the promise of heaven, the sun will shine again, the Way, they have not known nor understood, to a glorious future with Jesus, truth, understanding, vim and vigour, walking faithfully, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, world of darkness
Nehemiah 8:10c. For the joy of the Lord is your strength.
Oh welcome my brethren to another interesting and satisfying day of life on God’s great planet Earth!
And as we keep saying, there must be a reason for us to have awakened this morning. So, after giving God some thanks and praise for bringing us through the dark night of sin into the glorious sunshine of Jesus, let’s get with His plan for our lives right away nuh.
And since today is Wednesday, it means declaring our Wednesday Wail with much vim and vigour. (smile) As one wailer now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home.
My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Yes friends, life is all about looking forward to a glorious future with Jesus! As they say; our best days are still ahead. And I do believe that. And how can we not be ever-thankful for the beautiful breath of God’s Spirit that’s flowing through us to give us what we call life eh!
Now today I want to share something from Gramps Schuller’s (Robert H. Schuller) Hours of Power Devotional. Don’t know if I’ve shared it before, but if I have, it’s certainly worthy of another go round in this dark and dismal world.
He asks the question ‘Are You Happy?’ But I want to change it to ‘Are you Joyful?’ because happiness conveys a sense of now for now pleasure that soon fades, pleasure as the world sees it, not the long lasting joy that comes from a true relationship with Jesus. So in this passage, wherever we see ‘Happiness,’ let’s read it as ‘Joyfulness.’
So here goes: ‘Happiness – that deep inner strength that is made up of courage, faith, hope, and peace. Mix them together and you have happiness! Happiness – the courage to hang on in the face of severe adversity! Happiness – the faith that God will have the last word, and it will be good! Happiness – the hope that, even though you can only see the shadow, someday the clouds will clear away and the sun will shine again!
Happiness – the quiet sense of self-esteem that comes when you know you have done your best. Happiness – the assurance that you have been merciful and kind to enemy and friend alike. Happiness – the quiet assurance that God will be merciful and kind to you, too. Happiness – the beautiful belief that this life, no matter how difficult it may be, is not your final destination.’
Oh what beautiful, words, thoughts and emotions my people! Especially knowing that our final destination is heaven, to live with Jesus forever! ‘And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.’ (Rev.21:4)
And all God’s people loudly and proudly declared: ‘Glory Hallelujah! Thank the Lord for the promise of heaven!’
And that’s all fine and dandy my friends, but the truth, the reality is that we can’t have all those things, all that happiness, all that joyfulness here on earth, unless we are walking faithfully and steadfastly with Almighty God!
And you ask why? Simply because, as our Bit says: ‘For the joy of the Lord is your strength.’
And that my people is an indisputable fact! We cannot be truly happy or joyful for any length of time, unless the Lord’s joy is running through us. The Lord’s joy comes from a sense of inner peace, of expectations edged with faith in God’s promises, and the practical LOVE He showed to us by sending His Son Jesus Christ to die for the atonement of our sins!
No other faith can boast of those things! That’s why Jesus is the Truth, the Life, the Way and the Light that lights up this world of darkness!
Now some of us might not know where our Bit comes from, or how it is tied in to the scriptures, so let’s go back in time. The Israelites had recently returned from exile in Babylon, and having settled themselves in their homeland again, in the seventh month they came together to celebrate and thank the Lord.
‘And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street (plaza) that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had commanded to Israel. And Ezra the scribe brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding upon the first day of the seventh month.’ (Neh.8:1-2)
Now friends, I think it’s very important that we listen to the scholars’ explanation here. ‘8:2. The time was the Feast of Trumpets (Lev.23:24) and was about September 27, 444 B.C. This was the most sacred of the new moons, and commenced the final month of the religious festivals (Lev.23:23-25; Num.29:1-6). The concept of understanding was important as Proverbs 1:2 indicates (cf. Ex.12:26-27; Deut.4:6; 6:6-9; 31:12-13).
Mindless superstition was the mark of paganism (“They have not known nor understood.” Is.44:18-20), and had been the downfall of apostate Israel (Hos.4:6: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”). Notice the stress on understanding in verses 2-3, 7-8,13.’
Oh friends, that is exactly what’s happening to our world today! We are suffering from a lack of knowledge and understanding of God, just like Israel was back then. Paganism is rearing its ugly head more and more, no wonder our world is going to hell in a hand-basket like happened to the apostate Israel!
What do you think happens when a society, a nation, a world turns away from Almighty God eh? Obvious calamity!
Oh my people, look at the number of places, cities and societies cited in the Bible who were destroyed because they had turned from worshipping and serving the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, including His chosen Israel several times.
What makes us thing that our turning away from Him now will end any differently eh? And I’ll leave us to ponder that question today. Much LOVE!
…apart from Almighty God…mankind is doomed to destruction…
25 Jan 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, appreciation, attributes of God, aura of love, blizzard, churlishness, compassion, complaints, confidence, conquerors, contention, Creator of the universe, Eastern coast of North America, enthusiasm, eternal life, everlasting life, evil, faith, false teaching, fellowship, foolish pride, for God so loved the world, freezing to death, glorious kingdom, God is LOVE, Gos id light, gusto, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, holy spirit, hope, human response, humble servants, immortal words, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, keeping lives and families together, let us love one another, lies, life-giving words, LOVE, LOVE is of God, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, obedience to god, prayer, prayers, ravages, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, rest, right belief about Christ, running out of gas, snow, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, suspicion, taunts, thankfulness, the BIBLE, the greatest of these, truth, understanding, ungodly world, useful purpose, weary souls, whoever believeth in him should not perish, wiles
John 3:16. For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Ah friends, this Monday morning is one day many of us should be ever so thankful that we’re not living on the Eastern coast of North America, because of the terrible blizzard that passed through that area on the weekend, dropping humongous amounts of snow on the ground. Ah Lord eh!
On the news, I believe it was Saturday, I heard a woman saying that she and her family had been snowbound on the Pennsylvania Turnpike for 12 hours. Another woman and her family, on another highway, had been snowbound for some twenty hours. Can you imagine that – sitting in a car for so long, the windows all frosted and you being anxious about running out of gas and possibly freezing to death?
One of those two women had their diabetic father with her, on his birthday to boot. Not a very pleasant way to spend your birthday at all. I believe though, that one of those families was fairly close to a gas station, so they were able to get some food and refreshment. I don’t how much that helped though, when you couldn’t drive, and you were still a long way from home.
Please let’s remember in our prayers the millions of people along the Eastern seaboard who are still undergoing the ravages of the snowstorm. So let’s have no complaints and churlishness because you have to get up and go to work. Let’s just sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with extra gusto and thankfulness.
All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
That was good friends, but I don’t think that our choir director, Jesus, heard enough thankfulness in our voices. (smile) But He does know that we believe His words found in our most encouraging and uplifting Bit. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’
And how could we not believe those beautiful, eternal life-giving words eh, unless we’re real dense and full of foolish pride? And I know that some of you might be tired with the same Bit for so long, but my people, that is possibly the most important statement in the entire Bible. It was the ONLY reason that Jesus came to earth!
And if you can’t feast on those miraculous and momentous words for a few days, then I’d strongly suggest you question your faith. And I can’t guarantee that it will finish today either, for there’s still a fair amount of scripture to be studied on it. And we’ll begin with the immortal words of John’s first epistle, re God is LOVE!
‘BELOVED, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God.’ (1 John 4:7)
Now let’s stop right there and get some valuable explanations from the scholars. ‘4:7. John returns to the theme of mutual LOVE. Perhaps the false teaching he felt compelled to combat had contributed to suspicion and contention in the fellowship. In contrast, John is not saying that everyone who LOVES is a Christian, whether they trust in Christ or not.
He makes it clear elsewhere that true knowledge of God entails right belief about Christ, as well as right response to God, including LOVE of others. Mere human LOVE apart from Christ’s redeeming presence and motivation falls short of LOVE in its fullest dimension as a human response to God’s perfect and infinite compassion (cf. 1 Cor.13).’
Oh my brethren, I do hope that that helps us to better understand the precept of God’s LOVE; His LOVE for us, as well as our LOVE for Him and for others. It must be accompanied by true belief in Christ and obedience to God’s Word!
Now let’s continue with the scripture. ‘He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE.’ (1 John 4:8)
We have to stop here again my people to get a little insight on that verse from the scholars. ‘4:8. John has also recorded that “God is light” (1:5) and “Spirit” (John 4:24). LOVE is one of the many attributes of God and is to be understood in relation to the others, such as holiness and justice.’
Yes friends, our God is what in sports parlance we’d call an all-rounder – has many parts to His nature! However, He is not just a jack of all trades, but indeed a MASTER of them all! (smile)
And you know what? I think we’ll stop there for today, since I don’t want the Bit to get too involved and difficult to understand. So, the Lord willing, we’ll just have to continue it tomorrow. (smile)
Bear with me friends, it’s all for a good purpose, to our benefit. And I do hope that our understanding and appreciation of God’s LOVE has improved, has grown today, because that’s what it’s all about. Much LOVE!
…And now abideth…faith…hope…LOVE…these three…but the greatest of these is…LOVE… (1Cor.13:13)
16 Dec 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a discernerof the thoughts and intents of the heart, a package of ethics, Advent, crash head-on with a living Person, crooked places become straight, darkness becomes light, festivity, glory hallelujah, God said let there be light, God's infallible Word to man, God's wisdom, gospel truth, I am halfway home, I'm not focusing on the past, I'm not turning back, I'm so glad to be alive, jesus birth, Jesus is the reason for the season, keep Christ in Christmas, LOVE, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, One Year Book of Bible promises, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, Ruth Harms Calkin, season of joy, serious shortcomings, sharper than any twoedged sword, the BIBLE, the Bible is God's word to us, the Book of All Books, the breath of life, the God of all goodness, the living Word, the One who makes all things new, the real spirit of Christmas, the Word of God is quick, there is power in the Word, to a glorious future with Jesus, true insights into God, Wednesday Wail
Hebrews 4:12. For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of (is able to judge) the thoughts and intents (intentions) of the heart.
Oh friends and neighbours, it’s only nine more days to that marvellous and miraculous day of Jesus’ birth! Wow! Isn’t it wonderful how we all come together to celebrate Christmas!
Oh how I wish that we could be so together all year round. But I suppose that’s just an idle wish of a naive old man. Hn, hn!
However, what I want to point out here is that though Christmas Day is important, what’s also important is our journey to it, the way we approach it; with joy and gladness and singing and pleasant fellowship and good cheer.
That’s what this season of Advent, or preparation for the arrival of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is all about. So let’s get in the spirit nuh, the real spirit of Christmas, not the worldly aspect of it, where the buying of gifts and busyness and rushing and pushing and frustration and household preparations are paramount.
Let’s remember to keep Christ in Christmas, for He is the reason for the season!
Now listen to these words of wisdom from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. I just couldn’t pass up the chance to share this one. It’s titled ‘Book of All Books.’
And it says: ‘Lord, I am overwhelmed As I read Your living Word. What power, what pungency I find within its pages. It stirs me, burns with me It challenges me, invigorates me And often disturbs me. When I obey its commands The results are what you claim: Darkness becomes light Crooked places become straight
The more I seek, the more I find. Within its pages, God I see beyond mere philosophy I see beyond a neat package of ethics. I crash head-on with a living Person The One who makes all things new. No other book can claim as much.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my people! No other Book in all of man’s existence can make all those truthful claims but the Bible; God’s infallible Word to man! Glory Hallelujah!
Now the next thing is when we read it, does it elicit in us the emotions the writer points out? I surely do hope so, because that is what it was meant to do. That’s why it is ever so important for us to continually read and study the Bible, for it’s the only way we will get true insights into our great God and His most wonderful persona!
And since it’s Wednesday, that means it’s wailing time, so let’s declare our Wednesday Wail with much enthusiasm and sincerity. As one now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Oh glory to God my precious people! Isn’t it wonderful to be alive, especially in this Christmas season of joy and festivity! And looking forward to all that Jesus has promised to those who follow Him is certainly intoxicating, for no one else has, or can make the promises that He has done? Give Him thanks and honour my brethren!
And the promise for that poem above is also our Bit for today. ‘For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of (is able to judge) the thoughts and intents (intentions) of the heart.’
More indisputable truth my fellow believers! The Word of God is indeed powerful! Remember how He created the universe and all therein? With His Word, by word of mouth! ‘And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.’ (Gen.1:3)
And you can go through that first chapter of Genesis and see where our mighty God spoke everything, except man, into existence. Man, He made LOVINGLY with His own two hands, in His own image, and gave us His breath of life. That’s why we’re so special to Him.
But friends, if the Word of God is that powerful, and we are made in His image, with His breath of life flowing through us, then that means we also have power through the Word. Consequently, we need to continually speak God’s Word over our lives and the lives of those around us. For as the song says: ‘There is power in the Word!’ Glory Hallelujah!
And one of our serious shortcomings is not speaking the Word more often in our daily walk with Jesus. And you’ll notice that during Jesus’ sojourn here on earth, He was always quoting the Word. So if he could quote the Word, why should we be any different eh friends? No reason whatsoever!
Anyway, enough stuff for us to ponder today. (smile) Tomorrow, God in favour, we’ll continue this most important teaching. Till then my fellow believers, may the God of all goodness and LOVE, walk beside us and keep us safe, for that’s what He has promised to do for all those who believe in Him and His Son Jesus Christ. Much LOVE!
…the Bible is God’s Word to us…still fresh through all the ages…and if we read it…we will find God’s wisdom on its pages…
03 Dec 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a guide book to earthly living, a tie that binds, blessed is he that readeth, blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, bloodlines, commandments, covenant ties with God, depart from evil, DETERMINATION, do good, dwell for ever more, eternal life, for the time is at hand, glory to God, God's children, God's Holy word, God's timing, God's will, his seed begging bread, I have been young, I have not seen the righteous forsaken, in sync with God, Jesus sacrificed Himself, Jesus' sacrificial death, keep those things which are written therein, life and death, light in the darkness, like lost sheep, LOVE, marching as to war, meditate on God's Word, my mother and my brethren, Onward Christian soldiers, pay for our sins, Praise ye the Lord, ramifications of our actions, salvation, sit idly by, soldiers of Christ, take life by the horns, the BIBLE, the cross of Jesus, the generation of the upright shall be blessed, the gift of God, the Lord upholdeth him with his hand, the steps of a good man, these which hear the word of God and do it, they that hear the words of this prophecy, ungodly civilization, with the cross of jesus going on before, without a shepherd
Revelation 1:3. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
‘Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before. Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe; Forward into battle see His banners go! Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before.’
Oh Yes Friends, we are indeed soldiers of Christ, marching in to war with the enemy in this ungodly civilization in which we now live. And our banner is the mighty cross of Christ! Let us never forget that, for the cross is the difference between life and death for believers.
It is where Jesus sacrificed Himself to pay for our sins, and it is to it that we owe all that we are as Christians. Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross brought God’s gift of salvation and eternal life to sinful man.
Therefore let us rise up and faithfully fight the battles in which we are engaged on Christ’s behalf. We cannot just sit idly by and allow life to roll over us, we have to take it by the horns and make it bow to us.
For as one Peter Marshall supposedly said: ‘Let us not be content to wait and see what will happen, but give us the determination to make things happen.’
Now that is quite true my people, but we have to take that with some advisement; namely making sure that what we are doing is God’s will, and also His timing. For if we get out of His will and timing, we will just make an unholy mess of things.
And the best way to ensure that we are in God’s will and timing is by following the wise advice of our Bit. ‘Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.’
Yes my people, God gave us His Holy Word, the Bible as a guidebook for our earthly living, so that we can always be in sync with Him. But to know when we are in or out of sync with the Lord, we have to read and meditate on His Word, and then follow its dictates. Otherwise we’ll just be like lost sheep without a shepherd, liable to go seriously astray in this evil and contentious world.
I’m sure that when you go on vacation, or anywhere new, and you’re given material describing your surroundings and what happens there, you look at it carefully so you can understand the ramifications of your actions.
Well the Bible falls into the same category; it explains what will and will not happen in your life, according to the decisions you make. Glory to God for showing us the way!
Now let’s check out some scripture that corroborates the contentions of our Bit, beginning with the words of Jesus. One day, while Jesus was teaching, the Good Book says: ‘Then came to him his mother and his brethren (brothers), and could not come at him for the press (the crowd).
And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without (outside), desiring to see thee. And he answered and said, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.’ (Luke 8:19-21)
Oh friends, I know that sounds somewhat harsh, especially from Jesus, but He is just trying to show that though family ties are important, covenant ties with God are much more important. As the scholars say: ‘Mutual obedience to God comprises a tie that binds more closely than mere bloodlines.’
Now here is Mark’s version of the same situation. ‘And he answered them saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren (brothers)? And he looked round about on them which sat about him (in a circle), and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.’ (Mark:3:33-35)
So Friends, we can clearly see that doing the will of God is our most important goal and action on this earth, because our Lord and Saviour said so!
Now listen to these words from Psalm 112, which support all that we’ve been speaking about. ‘Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah). Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth; the generation of the upright shall be blessed.
Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth (stands) forever. Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.’ (Ps.112:1-4)
Oh my people, yuh see what happens when we read, meditate on and obey God’s Word! Our lives are blessed! Glory Hallelujah!
That brings us to the words of Bruh David in Psalm 37 – the true state of the wicked – where he boldly proclaims: ‘The steps of a good man are ordered (established) by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.
I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed (descendants) begging bread. He is ever (always) merciful, and lendeth; and his seed (descendants) is blessed. Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for ever more.’ ( Ps.37:23-27)
And what better note to end on my brethren! So as we go about our business today, let us take Bruh David’s wise advice nuh; let us depart from evil, and do good, so that we can live forever. Much LOVE!
…like children obey their earthly fathers…so too should God’s children…obey their heavenly Father…
02 Dec 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a crown of righteousness, a didived house cannot stand, a positive approach to life, Anselm, belief, blessed are the undefiled, blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it, blessed is he that readeth, blessed is the womb that bare thee, Christians, earthly pilgrimage, eyes fixed on the prize, faith, for the time is at hand, forgiveness, giving thanks, Glory be, glory hallelujah, glory to God, hope, hope-building people, I am halfway home, I want to be in that number, I'm not turning back, I'ms so glad to be alive, Im not looking back at the past, it's a brand new day, keep those things which are written therein, life-changing content, LOVE, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, oh when the saints go marching in, perseverance, positive, positive action, positive vision, read our names in the obits, read the Good Book, rejoicing, rewards in heaven, running our race of glory, seeing Jesus in heaven, spreading God's Word, the BIBLE, the breath of life, thepaps which thou hast sucked, they that hear the words of this prophecy, this is the day the Lord has made, to a glorious future with Jesus, we will rejoice and be glad in it, Wednesday Wail, welcome thou good and faithful servant, who walk in the law of the Lord, witness, witness to unbelievers
Revelation 1:3. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Oh my people it’s a brand new day! Glory be! That means there are things for us to do, plans for us to accomplish in the Lord’s name, otherwise we would have read our names in the obits this morning. (smile) Oh glory to God for being such a wonderful Saviour and Provider!
So let’s proclaim, as the psalmist did: ‘This is the day the Lord has made. We WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’
Yes friends, every day that we’re alive should be one of rejoicing and giving thanks and praise for all that we enjoy. But to do that we have to do one thing in particular; develop a positive approach to life and dwell therein.
And we have a two for one offer today on the subject from our Friend Anselm, who always tries to inspire us to have a better tomorrow. The first quote says: ‘In order to carry a positive action we must develop a positive vision.’ That’s oh so true my people, we can’t do positive stuff unless we have a positive outlook.
And the second quote gives us some insight into how to accomplish the ‘positivity’ in our lives. ‘You can make positive deposits in your own economy every day by reading and listening to positive, life-changing content, and by associating with encouraging and hope-building people.’
What glorious truth my brethren! We can only become positive and stay positive by reading positive stuff and associating with positive, hope-filled people on a regular basis. And the most positive book in the world is the Bible! And the most positive people ought to be Christians!
So what does that tell us eh? That we ought to read the Bible regularly and associate with Christians to a great extent.
Now we can’t only associate with Christians, otherwise we’d lose opportunities to witness to the unbelievers, both by word and deed, and personal witnessing is one of our great tools for spreading God’s Word.
And to help us stay in a positive mode and frame of mind, let’s do what we do on Wednesdays nuh; that is proclaim our Wednesday Wail. Altogether now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home.
My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Oh my people, my people, what a wise and wonderful way to look at life! We’re not looking back, but ahead, running our race of glory with our eyes fixed on the prize of one day seeing Jesus in heaven, having Him place a crown of righteousness on our heads and enthusiastically saying: ‘Welcome thou good and faithful servant!’
Nothing can be sweeter or more worthwhile than that my fellow believers! But to have that wonderful encounter in heaven, we need to do certain things down here on earth. And our Bit says it all: ‘Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.’
Yes friends, we desperately need to follow that dictate. Remember the scholars told us yesterday that our Bit has a three-part condition to it: we need to READ the Good Book, then HEAR or UNDERSTAND it, and finally KEEP or OBEY it! Yes my brethren, that’s the magic formula for piling up rewards in heaven and being welcomed by a beaming Christ at the end of our earthly pilgrimage!
Well, in truth, there is nothing magical to it, but more a lot of things like hope and faith and belief, forgiveness, LOVE and perseverance. Those are the essentials for obtaining our eventual goal, of one day being welcomed by Christ in heaven.
Now let us look at some scriptures that corroborate our Bit. And there’s no better way to begin than with the words of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. One day, while explaining to His listeners that a divided house cannot stand, the Good Book tells us.
‘And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company (crowd) lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked (the breasts which nursed thee). But he said, Yea, rather (more than that) blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.’ (Luke 11:27-28)
And the scholars have an interesting explanation on those verses.’11:27-28. These verses are unique to Luke. They show that spiritual relationship with Jesus is more important than family ties, and that blessedness is a matter of both hearing and doing God’s word.’
Oh friends, we can never overstate the importance of reading, hearing and doing God’s Word!
Now let’s end with the opening passage from Psalm 119 – ALEPH – The Lord’s judgements are righteous. ‘Blessed are the undefiled (blameless) in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.’ (Ps.119:1-3)
Yes my precious people, that’s gospel truth! So today, and everyday henceforth, let’s show our wisdom by doing what it says nuh. That way we can be assured of a great welcome in heaven by Jesus and all the saints. Much LOVE!
…oh when the saints…go marching in…oh when the saints go marching in…oh Lord…I want to be in that number…when the saints go marching in…
29 Nov 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: . the pain of loneliness, a coward about pain, abundant in goodness, but there is forgiveness with thee, cleanse us from all unrighteousness, compassions, confess our sins, conformed to the image of Christ, emotional trauma, fiery ordeals, Fiery Trials, forgifing iniquity, forgiveness, frightens me, gather in the Lord's sanctuary, glory to God, God is faithful and just, grieves me, grin and bear it, I ask God to steady me, It is of the Lord's mercies, lessons regarding growth, let the wicked forsake his way, LOVE, mercies, merciful long-suffering, Mt. Sinai, offer up sacrifices of praise and thanks, One Year Book of Bible promises, pain, painkillers, Praise the Lord, praying for an open heart, pruning, rejoice, reverenced with awe, Ruth Harms Calkin, sin, Sunday, testing, thanksgiving weekend, that thou mayest be feared, the BIBLE, the pain of losing someone dear to me, the Ten Commandments, think it not strange re the fiery trials, to the Lord belongs mercies and forgiveness, transgression, trials are part of our walk with God, truth, we are not consumed, willingness, with exceeding joy, ye are partakers of Christ's suffering
Psalm 130:4. But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared (reverenced with awe).
Well then my fellow believers, it’s that glorious day called Sunday, when we are expected to gather together in the Lord’s sanctuary to offer up our sacrifices of praise and thanks and worship! Glory to God!
And remember this is still Thanksgiving Weekend, so even more praises and thanks are expected. Today ought mostly to be about glorifying our wonderful Creator and heavenly Father, so please, let’s not make a mockery of it and get out there in our numbers and do what we know is right.
And all God’s children declared a loud and proud: ‘Praise the Lord!’
Now here is something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, which I think we all should place close attention to this November Sunday. It’s called ‘Fiery Trials.’
Listen up. ‘God is teaching me incredible lessons regarding growth. I see with undeniable evidence that growth means pruning, and pruning means pain. I confess, I’m actually a coward about pain. I certainly never pray for it. I don’t anticipate or look for it. I do only one thing. I ask God to steady me, since the Bible so clearly states that trials are a part of our lifewalk with him.
In all honesty I would prefer to escape the testing. I don’t like the pain of emotional trauma, which can be so overwhelming and baffling. I don’t like the deep cutting pain that goes on and on without relief. The pain of loneliness frightens me, the pain of losing someone dear to me grieves me.
Nevertheless, I am praying for an open heart. I can’t begin to contemplate what fiery ordeals God may choose for my testing and growth, but I do long for my yieldness to prove my willingness to be conformed to the image of his dear Son.’
Oh Friends, I read that yesterday, but it’s only just now as I copied it that it really hit home. I’m talking about the agonizing pain I’ve been going through this past week. It was just supposed to be a simple procedure…
Ah Lord eh, thanks for painkillers yes. At least they ease up the pain some. If this is merely testing, then I’m not very thrilled about it nuh. But I guess I’ll just have to grin and bear it, although it’s getting harder to do with each passing day. I’ll surely have to check out the medics tomorrow, because this just doesn’t seem right.
And the promise to which that poem is attached is: ‘Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trials which try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as (to the extent that) ye are partakers of Christ’s suffering; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.’ (1 Pet.4:12-13)
Ah mih people, it is a great scripture, but certainly not an easy one to put into action. But since we are a continual work in progress, we’ll obviously try our best to do so, with God’s wonderful help of course.
And having said all of that, let’s turn to our Bit. ‘But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared (reverenced with awe).’
Yes friends, we’re continuing with the theme of forgiveness. Today however, we’re just going to look at scriptures which talk about, which trumpet the forgiveness of our heavenly Father. And what better scripture to begin with than this one from 1 John.
‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.’ (1 John 1:9-10) And we definitely don’t want to call God a liar!
Then listen to Daniel as he prays for his people Israel. ‘To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him.’ (Dan.9:9)
Never were truer words spoken my brethren, because as Jeremiah so wisely tells us in Lamentations: ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’ (Lam.3:22-23)
And all God’s people gratefully declared: ‘Thank God for His mercies and compassions! Thank God that they are new everyday!’ Yes friends, we certainly have to be thankful there, otherwise we’d be mercilessly swept aside because of our sinful nature and behaviour.
Now hear Isaiah: ‘Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.’ (Is.55:7) More words of undisputed truth!
And Bruh David in Psalm 86 – Teach me thy way, O Lord – puts it this way. ‘Rejoice (make glad) the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For thou Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.’ (Ps.86:4-5) Gospel truth my precious people!
And we’ll end most appropriately with words from our God Himself, when Moses went back up Mt. Sinai to have the tablets of the Ten Commandments rewritten, after he had broken them.
‘And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.’ (Ex.34:6-7)
Yes my fellow believers, our God is a most forgiving God; in fact the ONLY such one amongst all the other supposed deities. Please remember that and act accordingly. Much LOVE!
…forgiveness is certainly ours for the asking…but it all depends on our forgiveness of others…
05 Nov 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sad tale, aches and pains, action, an apostle of Jesus Christ, Aristotle, brotherly kindness, by their fruits ye shall know them, calling, care, charity, Christian attributes, Christian faith, cleansed from old sins, come out of the woodwork, come to Jesus, compassion, corruption, diligence, disappoints Jesus, divine power, effort, election, energy, excellence, excellence is not an act but a habit, faith, fall, fiasco, fruits, godliness, going to bed early is for the birds, grace and peace, grow in spiritual maturity, help, help of the Holy Spirit, if these things abound in you, in a world of plenty, knowledge, lead and guide us, life, live fruitful lives, LOVE, lust, our bounden duty, our guidebook, patience, people of excellence, perseverance, practice, promises, repetition, self-control, share our good fortune, Simon Peter, spiritual maturity, stumble, superstar, temperance, the BIBLE, the divine nature, the everlasting kingdom, the Holy Spirit, time, toil, true disciples of Jesus, turning and tossing, unfruitful in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, virtue, we are what we do repeatedly, ye shall neither be barren
2 Peter 1:8. For if these things be in you (are yours), and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren (useless) nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Aye Friends, this going to bed early is truly for the birds yes! Steups! I tried it last night and what a fiasco it turned out to be.
Chuh! I was up almost every hour on the hour, then couldn’t find a comfortable position to go back to sleep, and thus kept turning and tossing.
Then I was finally forced to get up by my aches and pains. It surely seems like they have all come out of the woodwork this morning, and have me doddering around like a real old man. (smile)
Don’t know how people lie in their beds for 8 to 10 hours nuh. I could not even make seven comfortably. After about five, if so much, things begin to go awry with me.
But you know what Friends, I will take those aches and pains any day over the more serious problems that more than half the world has. I at least have a roof over my head, food on my table and a comfortable bed to sleep in, I just can’t spend too much time in it. (smile).
However, a lot of our brothers and sisters around the world, don’t have those luxuries, and may never have them throughout their entire lives. What a sad tale in a world of plenty!
At least I know that as the day goes along and I move around, my aches and pains will gradually diminish, but there are too many unfortunates in this rich world whose lives will never change without help, and it is our bounden duty to help them in whatever way we can.
We have to be people of excellence, of LOVE, care and compassion, as Jesus desires us to be, and share our good fortune with the less fortunate. That’s how people will know that we are true disciples of His.
And while we’re on the subject of excellence, listen to this quote attributed to the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C). It says that ‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.’
And that’s very true my people. You just don’t develop excellence overnight; you have to work at it continually. That means that excellence can only be achieved through repetition. And that is why we practice and practice and practice yet again, at the things we want to be excellent in.
Nowadays everybody wants to be a supposed superstar, but unfortunately they don’t want to put in the effort and work necessary to become one. I think it’s the same with our Christian faith. We all want to be mature and righteous and otherwise, but we don’t want to do the things it takes to become such.
Those Christian attributes don’t come overnight nuh mih people. Like everything else, they do take a lot of toil and time, effort and energy, misfortune and suffering. But the beauty of our situation though is that we have the powerful help of the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in becoming excellent Christians, provided we’re willing to do what it takes.
No other faith has that divine body continually with them, and I’m sure it disappoints Jesus when we don’t use His Spirit to the max, or in the best ways possible.
Now let’s turn to our guidebook, the Bible, where we have this passage from 2 Peter that exemplifies all that we’ve been speaking about. ‘Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like (the same kind of) precious faith with us through the righteousness of (our) God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through (in) the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord. According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this (but also for this very reason), giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
And to knowledge temperance (self-control); and to temperance patience (perseverance); and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity (LOVE).
For if these things be in you (are yours), and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren (useless) nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.’(2 Pet.1-8)
Yes Friends, we already have everything we need to live fruitful lives, we just have to raise them up and work continuously at them. That’s the only way we can grow in spiritual maturity, which Peter is encouraging us all to do.
And Peter doesn’t stop there, he also shows us the other side of the coin. ‘But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off (is shortsighted), and hath forgotten that he was purged (cleansed) from his old sins.
Wherefore the rather brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall (stumble): For so an entrance shall be ministered (supplied) unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.’ (2 Pet.1:9-11)
There we have it Friends; to become excellent in the knowledge and glory of Christ, we have to work diligently at it. And a large part of becoming mature in Christ is that as we grow, we also put our knowledge, faith, virtue, godliness, brotherly kindness etc. to work.
For we ALL need to remember that our faith, Christianity, is not merely a lot of talking, but even more importantly, plenty, plenty action. So today, as we grow in faith, let’s also grow in our actions nuh, so that others may see our worthwhile fruits and desire to come to Jesus, and get what we have. Much LOVE!
…wherefore…by their fruits ye shall know them… (Matt.7:20)
03 Nov 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adoration, blessed is the Lamb that was slain, blessing, children of God, death is always the prelude to resurrection, dr robert h schuller, eternity, every time of ending is always a new beginning, fools despise widom and instruction, glory hallelujah, glory to God, gospel truth, Gramps Schuller, honour god, hope, hope ahead of me, human shortcomings, I am the beloved of god, I can trust my friend Jesus, I don't have to hurry, I don't have to worry, I'm not what I do, I'm not what I have, I'm not what people say about me, inherit eternity, like sheep lost in the wilderness, LOVE, love around me, nursing regrets, pride, pride behind me, recalling great accomplishments, reverential awe, share His love with the world, submission to the Lord, terrific Tuesday, the annals of mankind, the beginning of knowledge, the BIBLE, the end of the road, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, the fear of the Lord that is wisdom, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Holy Book, the knowledge of the holy one is understanding, the One and Only Living God, the vantage point, the whole world is your oyster, to depart from evil is understanding, truth, Tuesday Mantra, understanding, when one door closes another opens, When the Road ahead is short, wisdom, worship, write it indelibly in our hearts
Proverbs 9:10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy (One) is understanding.
Oh Friends, welcome to another wonderful day in the annals of mankind! Brother! It’s promising to be a terrific Tuesday in my neighbourhood, with the temperature around 17 Celsius and the sun shining brightly.
In fact the weather is supposed to be in the mid to high teens for most of this week, accompanied by mostly sunshine. Glory Hallelujah! That’s certainly somewhat unusual weather for this time of year, but we’re not complaining and will gladly take it, even giving off a most thankful ‘Glory to God!’ (smile)
Anyway, let’s get right to our Tuesday Mantra, for there are lots of things to share today.
As one voice now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen.’
Yes my brethren, that’s who we are; children of God! That’s our main identifier in this world – beloved children of God to boot! That means we’re not supposed to fret or worry over anything, just take it all to our trusted Friend, our Brother, our Lord and Saviour, our God, Jesus Christ.
Wow! Is He many things to us or what! That just goes to show how great and noble He is, and why we should put our complete trust in Him, surrender our entire lives to His will. Oh glory to the Most High God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Now here are some inspiring words from Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H Schuller) – gone but not forgotten – from his Hour of Power Devotional. It’s titled ‘When the Road Ahead Is Short.’
Please pray with me: ‘O God, from the vantage point of today the road ahead looks very short. I sense that I am about to reach the end. Remind me that every time of ending is always a time of new beginning. Every time one door closes, another door opens.
Every sunset is a move closer to a new sunrise. Death is always the prelude to resurrection. Help me to forgive myself for my imperfections and faults. I dishonour you when I disgrace myself by nursing regrets over my human shortcomings.
Help me to honour you by recalling great accomplishments you made possible through my life. So let me come to the end of the road with pride behind me, LOVE around me, and hope ahead of me – only to discover that what I thought was the end of the road is a bend in the road leading me into an exciting new world of opportunity or eternity.’
Yes my fellow believers, there are lots of truths in that prayer. Every time one door closes, another one opens; the ending of one thing or aspect of our lives is always the beginning of another. And above all when we do reach the end of the earthly road, there is the glory of eternity with God to behold and look forward to!
And all God’s people declared a loud and thankful ‘Glory Hallelujah! Blessed is the Lamb that was slain, so that we could inherit eternity!’
Yes Friends, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is indeed most worthy and deserving of all glory and blessing, adoration and worship!
Now let’s turn to our Bit which encapsulates all that we’ve said so far, and takes us even further into the real of wisdom and truth.
Hear now my people, these divine words of Cousin Sol: from the Book of Proverbs. ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy (One) is understanding.’
Gospel truth that in spades my brethren! For until we come to reverence the Lord God our Creator and to know His ways and means, we’re like sheep lost in the wilderness. And the only way we can achieve those things is by reading and studying His Word written in His Holy Book, the Bible.
Now that to some, is like cursing them. But the actual fact of the matter is that when you don’t read God’s Word, that is when you are really cursed and left hanging out to dry, to live by your own wits, which don’t really add up to much, and won’t get you very far.
But when you know the One and Only True Living God, then the whole world opens up to you; the whole world is your oyster, so to speak. (smile)
Now let’s check some other scriptures that also give the great advice found in our Bit. First up is Job’s declaration, as he speaks of wisdom being God’s gift. He ends the chapter thus: ‘And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.’ (Job 28:28) No doubt about that my people!
Meanwhile in the first chapter of Proverbs, Cousin Sol issues this immense warning. ‘The fear (reverential awe) of the Lord is the (principal) beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.’ (Prov.1:7) What glorious words of truth those are Friends!
And I think we’ll end today with some very useful explanations on that verse from the scholars. ‘1:7. The fear of the Lord means submission to the Lord and His revelation. When one is afraid of something, he either runs from it or submits to it. The latter idea is in view here. It is a healthy fear, like the fear of electricity or the fear of one’s parents, which causes one to act in an appropriate manner.
The beginning does not mean that “the fear of the Lord” is left behind in the course of acquiring wisdom, but that it is the controlling principle of wisdom.’
Okay my fellow believers, let’s write all of that indelibly in our hearts, souls, minds and bodies today, then get to wisely practicing it. Much LOVE!
…true wisdom is ONLY available from and through Almighty God…
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