The Overwhelming Importance of Christians COMPLETELY Surrendering Their Will to God’s Divine Will!

18 Jan 2026 Leave a comment

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

Luke 22:42.        Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.

One more Sunday morning amongst the many in our lives, my fellow believers, (smile) meaning that we should make the pilgrimage to the Lord’s sanctuary to worship, give praise and thanks and receive divine blessings to enable us to handle another week in this evil and ungodly world! Now, though  it’s a rather chilly Sunday, that should be offset by the bright rays of sunshine filtering through the cloud cover. 

And for today’s song of worship, we’ll sing an old favourite written around 1896 by the American Hymnwriter Judson W. Van De Venter (1855-1939), most aptly titled ‘All to Jesus I Surrender.’ And how did the song come about? According to Reynolds (Companion to the Baptist Hymnal), the author apparently stated it was written “in memory of the time when, after a long struggle, I had surrendered and dedicated my life to active Christian service.” And that’s what ALL believers are called to do! 

But more on that later. Right now, let’s raise our voices in sweet sacrifices of praise in a soulful, heartwarming, heartfelt, mid-tempo version of the song. Singing: ‘All to Jesus I surrender. All to Him I freely give; I will ever LOVE and trust Him, In His presence daily live. (Refrain: I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all.) All to Jesus I surrender, Humbly at His feet I bow, Worldly pleasures all forsaken. Take me, Jesus, take me now. (Refrain: I surrender all..) All to Jesus I surrender, Make me, Saviour, wholly Thine; Let me feel the Holy Spirit, Truly know that Thou art mine. 

(Refrain: I surrender all…) All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee; Fill me with Thy LOVE and power, Let Thy blessing fall on me. (Refrain: I surrender all…) All to Jesus I surrender, Now I feel the sacred flame; Oh, the joy of full salvation! Glory, glory, to His name! (Refrain: I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all…I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all… All to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all…’ 

That was a great rendition friends! And isn’t surrendering our all to Jesus the most momentous moment of our lives? It most certainly is!  And I like what this commentary says about the hymn. ‘The song “I Surrender” is a beautiful reminder of the power of surrendering to God and trusting in Him. When we surrender to God, He will provide us with strength, courage, mercy, and grace. We can trust Him to take care of us and provide for us. May we all remember to surrender to God and trust in Him.’ And that’s exactly what the Christian faith and life are all about; surrendering ourselves to Jesus! 

Now, before we get into the heart of the matter, (smile) it might be best to define what it means to surrender in biblical terms. This commentary explains it thus: ‘Biblically, surrender means fully yielding your own will, plans, and desires to God’s will, submitting to His authority, and trusting His sovereignty, which is seen not as weakness but as a path to spiritual freedom, true purpose, and intimacy with Him, often involving obedience, humility, and letting go of self-centered control. It’s about putting a “white flag” up to God, trusting He can handle your anxieties and lead you better than you can yourself, aligning your life with His divine viewpoint.’ 

And that’s indeed a tough row to hoe in this turbulent and ungodly society, but it’s what our discipleship calls for. As Jesus so succinctly puts it: (smile) ‘If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23) Now that’s what we are called to do daily, not when we feel like it. And it’s not the easiest thing to do, especially when Jesus breaks it down thus: ‘If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren (brothers), and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosever doth not bear his cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple.’ (Luke 14:26-27) 

Oh, we know that Jesus doesn’t truly mean we should hate our families, but as the scholars point out: ‘In comparison to one’s devotion to Christ, one’s family ties must be secondary. This does not set aside Jesus’ other teachings to LOVE one’s enemies, to honour father and mother, and the like. It does highlight though that absolute loyalty to Christ is paramount, not the either-or that the verse sets up and so many societies adhere to.’ 

And the easiest way to begin living for Christ is by doing like Bruh Paul advocates to the Roman church: ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.’ (Rom. 12:2) The first thing we must do is change our way of thinking from that of the world to that of Jesus. And we know that’s not easy either, but with Jesus’ help we can certainly do it. 

And it won’t be right to close without a couple examples of biblical surrender. The first is when Jesus called the brothers Peter and Andrew, two fishermen in the process of casting their nets. He simply said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him’ (Matt. 4:18-20) Imagine that nuh! They left their livelihood just like that to follow an itinerant preacher. And it’s the same thing James and John did when He called them soon after. They were mending their nets with their father on their ship. The Bible tells us: ‘They immediately left the ship and their father and followed him’ (Matt. 4:21-22) 

Wow! Not many of us would do that on such short notice. But that’s exactly what discipleship calls for! And possibly the greatest surrender in human form might be Bruh Paul himself; an abuser and killer of the brethren when known as Saul, but after Jesus knocked him off his horse and blinded him on the way to Damascus to persecute more Christians, he became as docile as a lamb, and went quietly into Jesus’ service, with his name changed to Paul, to become one of the most hardworking and zealous apostles of them all. And you can find Bruh Paul’s story in Acts 9. 

And the best example of surrendering is obviously Jesus’ surrender to His Father’s will, to come to earth and die to save a bunch of ungrateful sinners. As He says in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before His crucifixion, when His soul was in much torment at the dreadful situation he faced: ‘Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.’ (Luke 22:42) 

Now that’s how we all ought to be when the Lord calls on us. So please, let’s ponder our individual responses to Jesus today, and see where we can make improvements in our attitude of surrender. Much LOVE!

…there’s such amazing rest and peace…with no fear or anxiety…when we surrender our all to God… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 August 2020 John 15:5b.

27 Aug 2020 Leave a comment

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

John 15:5b.     for without me, ye can do nothing.

It was a wet and foggy night, but surprisingly it’s turned out into a dry and sunshiny morning with a cool breeze coquettishly titillating the leaves and branches of the trees. (smile) Oh friends, words can paint such interesting pictures! Unfortunately though, too many of us are resisting the word pictures we’re painting in these troubling and turbulent times; the basic picture that Jesus is our answer, ONLY He can meet ALL of our needs… ONLY He can fix ALL of our problems, as individuals, as a nation and as a worldwide society!  

Yes my people, as I keep reminding us, Jesus is our Be All and End All! It’s as simple as that! And if we want our lives to go relatively smoothly, then we must get attached to Him. He makes it abundantly clear in these momentous words: ‘Abide in me, and I in you. as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me, ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:4-5) 

Oh mih bredrin, that’s the awesome truth, and Jesus has spelled it out in black and white for us: without Him, we can do nothing! But such is our pride and ego based on the finite knowledge and technological improvements we’ve made in our lives, that we refuse to accept the fact that Jesus is all-powerful and we can’t do anything without Him being involved in it. 

But here are a couple of scriptures from Bruh Paul that reiterate Jesus’ contention. The first comes from his second letter to the church at Corinth, who were having serious behavioural problems. ‘And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;’ (2 Cor. 3:4-5) 

And that’s the major stumbling block in our world today; we think too highly of ourselves and not highly enough of God. We believe that we are self-sufficient, but that’s a ghastly lie, and we’re only fooling ourselves and digging ourselves deeper into the pits of hell because of that false and oh so erroneous belief. Just look at the problems in our world today, if we were so self-sufficient and wonderful in our own strength, don’t you think we would have solved most of them by now? 

But we haven’t! And we won’t without divine help! That’s just the way the cookie crumbles! And until we understand that, we’ll just keep cascading down the cataract filled river of life until we come to one too big for us to handle in our own strength. Possibly we’ve just reached it; the pandemic and strife that’s currently overtaken our world, might just be the straw that broke the camel’s back. 

And the second scripture from Bruh Paul comes from his letter to the Colossians, where he’s talking about his service for Christ. ‘If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled (steadfast), and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.’ (Col. 1:23) 

And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘1:23. If ye continue in the faith (or, “since you will persevere in the faith”): the Colossians future entrance in God’s heavenly presence depends on whether they remain in the Christian faith. The words “since you will persevere” indicate that they will remain loyal to Christ. Perseverance in the Christian’s faith is a test of the reality of one’s trust in Christ. This verse implies that true believers will persevere.’ 

And we better had persevere, if we want to see the kingdom of heaven. Jesus said that very clearly too. ‘But he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved.’ (Matt. 24:13) So yuh see friends, is two things we have to do in this life; sincerely accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, then persevere in the faith that He’s proscribed to the end. But unfortunately too many of us refuse to accept those terms, and that’s why our world is spinning out of control, and headed straight for Hades… yes, we going to call it by its nice name, (smile) though we know that down there is a place of utter confusion and torment. 

Remember the saying that pride goes before a fall, well that’s exactly what’s happening to us right now, we’re falling and failing because our pride refuses to accept the fact that we’re not sufficient in our own strength to run our world, and only in Christ Jesus can we do a good job. Ah mih people, this life’s not easy, but with the help of Almighty God, it certainly can be real interesting and adventurous! And that is highlighted by the awesome blessings our wonderful God has given us to do His work down here on earth. We call them our Thursday Blessings. 

So let’s shout them out loud and proud nuh: ‘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!’ 

And with such an awesome array of blessings at our fingertips, let’s go out, or even stay at home, (smile) and use them to bless others just as generously as God has blessed us. That’s our bounden duty! Much LOVE!

…JESUS…ALL we ever need… 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 December 2019 Ephesians 6:11.

01 Dec 2019 Leave a comment

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

Ephesians 6:11.    ​Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (schemes)  of the devil.
 

Well friends, it’s the first Sunday in Advent! And why is that important eh? Because in the church’s calendar, this is the time of year we begin preparing for Christ’s coming! Originally it seems like it was a time to think of Christ’s Second Coming, a cry for the Messiah to come back and take over the evil world. But apparently down through the years it got intertwined with the First Coming of the Messiah, what we call Christmas, so now we celebrate Advent by looking back nostalgically at the First Coming, while excitedly and expectantly looking forward to the Second One! Only in the Christian faith can we have such double celebrations my people! (smile) 

Anyway, as we gather today in joyful fellowship in the Lord’s sanctuary, to give thanks and praise and worship His Holy Name, we not going to open with an Advent hymn because I got a zeppo intimating that the Lord wanted to hear this particular tune, ‘Stand up for Jesus!’ I guess He’s feeling that believers are not being strong and steadfast enough in the faith. We’re being too fearful and wishy-washy, sitting on the fence, wavering like a leaf in the wind, and too ready to compromise so that we can go on with our comfortable lives! 

Consequently, He wants us to get our acts together, get really serious about our cause, and like true warriors come out fighting valiantly under Jesus’ banner, even to the death, if needs be! So let’s raise our voices in strong and solemn song, as we sing these most excellent sentiments, but also truly fighting words, written in 1858 by George Duffield (1818-1888) in honour of his dear departed friend and leader, Dudley Atkins Tyng (1825-1858) in a tragic farm accident. It’s reputed that Tyng’s last message to his associates was for them to, ‘Stand up for Jesus,’ and this became the theme of Duffield’s song. 

And to make it even more powerful, we going to do a scintillating, rocking Reggae version, a la Miss Carlene Davis. Wow! Rockers time mih people! (smile) So altogether now: ‘Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross! Lift high his royal banner, it must not suffer loss. From victory unto victory his army he shall lead, till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed. Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the solemn watchword hear; if while ye sleep he suffers, away with shame and fear. Where’er ye meet with evil, within you or without, charge for the God of battles, and put the foe to rout. 

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, stand in his strength alone; the arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own. Put on the gospel armour, each piece put on with prayer; when duty calls or danger be never wanting there. (Bridge: Stand up, stand up, stand up for Jesus, children stand up. Stand up, stand up, stand up for Jesus, children stand up. Standing on the promises of Christ my Saviour, standing on the promises of God. Standing on the promises of Christ my Saviour, standing on the promises of God. Stand up, stand up, stand up for Jesus, children stand up, Stand up, stand up, stand up for Jesus, children stand up.) 

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the strife will not be long; this day the noise of battle, the next the victor’s song. To him that overcometh a crown of life shall be; he with the King of glory shall reign eternally. (Extro: Stand up, stand up, stand up for Jesus, children stand up, Stand up, stand up, stand up for Jesus, children stand up. Standing on the promises of Christ my Saviour, standing on the promises of God. Standing on the promises of Christ my Saviour, standing on the promises of God. Stand up, stand up, stand up for Jesus, children stand up, Stand up, stand up, stand up for Jesus, children stand up….!’ 

Aye friends, I hope we truly meant what we just sang, because our world is desperate for somebody, for serious somebodies to stand up to the evil one in Jesus name! And it’s sad that we all know the scripture that characterizes that song, but we’re not putting it into full and proper use. Hear Bruh Paul as he articulates to the Ephesians, re the whole armour of God: ‘Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.’ (Eph.6:10) 

As Christians we’re engaged in a spiritual battle from now until Christ’s Second Coming that we’re looking forward to this first Sunday in Advent. And there must be ‘no quarter given, no ceasefire, no temporary truce, no cessation of hostilities.’ But to do that successfully, we have to stand strong, be strengthened in and through the Lord’s might and power. And this next verse is also of the utmost importance: ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (schemes)  of the devil.’ 

Yes my faithful brethren, no soldier worth his salt, goes into battle without armour, without protective gear. And since in this case our battle is not physical but spiritual, we need specialized protection: Our loins must be girded with God’s truth; the knowledge of the truth of God’s Word. Our chests must be protected by a breastplate of righteousness, holy character and moral conduct, through obedience to God’s truth. And then our feet must be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. We must be eager and willing to take on the satanic one and his demoniac cohorts, take the fight to him, and we get that from the gospel of peace, that frees us of any anxiety and fear. 

Then we need the shield of faith so we can repulse all the fiery darts of the wicked one. That means taking God at His Word, believing His awesome promises, dispelling all doubt Satan might try to induce. And we must have a helmet; that of salvation; the hope of and assurance of salvation, the surety, that we’re saved. And you can’t fight without a sword, in this case the sword of the Spirit; the powerful and ever-conquering Word of God! 

But along with all of that protective armour friends, we still need to use the most powerful tool in the universe; prayer! Without it, the armour is useless. So let’s hope all of this has lit a fire in our bellies, reignited our passion for Christ, so that we can become better soldiers in His victorious army! Much LOVE!

…Christians…put on your spiritual armour…the time to fight is NOW…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 July 2017 1 Corinthians 15:57.

02 Jul 2017 Leave a comment

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

1 Corinthians 15:57.   But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Well friends, the 150th Canadian Birthday Party continues unabated. And though it was constrained a little by an afternoon thunder storm, after that, the sun came out brightly and the outside celebrations went on with much zest and enthusiasm, with brilliant fireworks filling the night air in many parts of the Greater Toronto Area. 

Now some people felt that all the hoopla was somewhat hypocritical because of the blemishes on our Canadian record, re the very poor treatment of the Aboriginal People up to this day, plus the insensitive handling of Chinese and Japanese immigrants during the Great War, not to mention the racism and sexism that are currently rearing their ugly heads. 

And all of those are serious problems for us to address, but if we only focus on our bad side, then no country would ever have cause to celebrate because every one has its own dark and evil problems and secrets. At least, hopefully, if we come together to celebrate a major anniversary, that togetherness will help to dissipate some of the current animosity found in our society. 

But even if we’re not together in our country, please, let’s show that we are together in our churches, in the Body of Christ, as we offer sacrifices of praise and worship in His sanctuary this Sunday morning. And today’s hymn is the old stalwart ‘At the Cross.’ So let’s rock God’s house my faithful brethren with powerful song. 

‘Alas, and did my Savior bleed? And did my Sovereign die? Would He devote that sacred head For such a worm as I? (Refrain: At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day!) Was it for crimes that I had done, He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity!  grace unknown! And LOVE beyond degree! (Refrain)

Well might the sun in darkness hide, And shut his glories in, When Christ, the mighty Maker died, For man the creature’s sin. (Refrain) But drops of grief can ne’er repay The debt of LOVE I owe: Here, Lord, I give myself away ’Tis all that I can do. (Refrain: At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day!’ 

Oh friends, the cross of Jesus is ever so significant in our Christian faith, for it’s there where Jesus sacrificed His life so that we could be reconciled with God and have the wonderful options of salvation and eternal life. Wow! It is indeed the centrepiece of our faith! It’s where everything begins and ends! Without it, we’d be nothing, still mere slaves to the evil Lucifer, facing death and eternal separation from Almighty God, our Creator. 

But thanks to Jesus, hanging in shame and utter cruelty on that tree at Calvary, we’ve been set free from every kind of bondage. Glory to God my people! And as the song says, once we’ve seen the light at the cross, all our burdens are rolled away, and we can be happy each and every day! Mama Mia! Thank the Lord for Jesus yes! 

And as Bruh Paul so aptly puts it in our Bit: ‘But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Now that’s the awesome truth my fellow believers? Without Christ, we’d have no victory whatsoever! That’s why we have to be ever so thankful and show proper gratitude for all of God’s great mercies towards us. 

Remember, He didn’t have to do anything for us. But because we were His creation, and so dear to His heart, He couldn’t just sit by and see us all go the way of Beelzebub! And Jesus didn’t have to give of Himself so selflessly and sacrificially either, but He delighted in doing the Father’s will, even though it was outrageously painful and shameful. 

That’s why the Father highly exalted Jesus afterwards, ‘and given him a name which is above every name; That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil.2:9-11) Oh what a mighty champion is our Lord and Saviour! 

And hear how John saw it in his vision in Revelation. As Jesus took up the Book of Life, ‘the four beasts  (living creatures) and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps and vials (bowls) full of odours (incense), which are the prayers of the saints. 

And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book (scroll), and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred (tribe), and tongue, and people, and nation. And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. 

And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts (living creatures) and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands and thousands: Saying with a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.’ (Rev.5:8-12) 

And that’s exactly how it should be. So please my fellow believers, let’s praise and honour Jesus, and live for and LOVE Him down here on earth nuh, so that we will be able to praise and worship Him later on in heaven. That’s wisdom of everlasting proportions! Much LOVE!

…if you don’t honour Jesus on earth…you won’t praise Him in heaven…