14 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sinless being, abuse, abused, assurance, blessings, Christ died for us, cleanse our sins, crucified, dance, death, destruction, drunken celebrations, enthusiasm, eternal darkness, eternal life, family, fellowship, for God so loved the world, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, glory to God, God's LOVE, Good Friday, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, heaven, hope, improvement, in Jesus' name, magnificent and magnanimous God, man made device, musician, negative aspect, pain, pay the price, positive side, Praise the Lord, reconciled to God, Red Letter Day, rejuvenation, relaxation, rest, sacrifice, should not perish, shout praises to God, sing, singer, sinners, sober, sombre, sorrow, suffering, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, that whosoever believes in him, the cross, the magnetic pull of Jesus, victorious life, week of work
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.
Oh friends, oh friends, the ole fella’s getting better! I’m getting better! Yes! Praise the Lord I’m getting better!
And I have to laugh at all my enthusiasm, for one would think that I’d gotten a brand new heart or something of the sort. But all the technician said after the tests yesterday is that there was a ‘li’l bit of improvement.’
But yuh know what friends, it could be just the tiniest bit of improvement, and I’ll sing and dance and shout praises to our most wonderful, magnificent and magnanimous God!
Why? Because it tells me that natural improvement is possible, gives me hope and assurance that I might not have to turn to a man made device for help after all. Glory to God, my people!
Yesterday I also went to my friend Jackie’s memorial service. It was well attended, and I found out some things I didn’t know about her, like her age, which she wore so well, that she was a brilliant musician and singer and very much into her family.
I remember now one day recently we were talking about food when she asked if I liked souse? I went, oh yes, I certainly do! And very generously she promised to make some for me when she felt better. Now I guess I’ll have to wait until I get to heaven for that souse. (smile)
Thank the Lord though that she led a full and victorious life, and her suffering was graciously cut short by our wonderful God, and she now rests peacefully in heaven with Him.
Now today friends is another Red Letter day in the history of our Christian faith; Good Friday! People oftimes wonder why we call it Good Friday when our Saviour Jesus was so cruelly and brutally abused and crucified on the cross.
Well the good thing about it, is that that sacrifice paid for our sins for all time! Without that sacrifice of a sinless being, we would still be headed straight for death and destruction. But Jesus’ selfless gift of His life gave us a reprieve, an opportunity to be reconciled to our Maker and heavenly Father.
And if that isn’t a most wonderful thing – in fact THE MOST WONDERFUL THING -then I don’t know what truly is nuh!
And remember what ignited that whole scenario is God’s great LOVE for us. As Jesus so gloriously declares in our 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.’
Yes my brethren, that is what Good Friday is all about, LOVE; the LOVE of the Father for His sinful children! Without God’s deep, abiding and unconditional LOVE for us Good Friday would never have happened!
And why did it have to be so cruel you ask? Because that’s the price it took to cleanse our sins and reconcile us to God! As simple as that!
As Bruh Paul reminds us in Romans: ‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through (in) Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Rom.6:23) And both the Father and Son were willing to pay that price for us to have eternal life! Glory Be!
And as Bruh Paul again reminds us in Romans: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrates) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom.5:8) So instead of focusing on the pain and suffering, today I want us to focus on the LOVE that went into that awesome and amazing sacrifice.
And though we abhor all the abuse and ‘sufferation’ Jesus bore on our behalf, we have to realize that it was necessary for us to be saved, and look on the bright and positive side, rather than the dark and negative aspect of the situation.
And yuh know what’s strange friends? On this Good Friday, the workingman, having the day off and the long weekend to look forward to, is not out in the streets declaring ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday, and we going to party the weekend away! Thank God for Fridays and the weekends!’
No instead, he is sober and sombre, considering the suffering of Christ on this fateful day some two thousand years ago. What a change in behaviour eh? That just shows us the magnetic pull of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
There will be no drunken celebrations today for the ordinary man. Although come tomorrow and the rest of the weekend, that will certainly change. (smile)
Anyway my fellow believers, it’s Friday, and we still need to chant our Friday Chant. So let’s do it with sincerity and truth nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes mih breddren, we still need the Lord’s blessings and help and rejuvenation to continue His worthwhile work come next week.
So please, though we feel sorrow over the pain and suffering Jesus bore for our sins to be washed clean, let’s not darken our day too much, but also give some praise and thanks for it, because without Good Friday, there could have been NO Easter Sunday! Much LOVE!
…the awesome sacrifice of Jesus…took us from eternal darkness…to eternal light and life…
09 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a load of care, a solemn sound, amid the conflict, angels will attend, anointed with fresh oil, bear fruit, burdened, busy society, cedars of Lebanon, count our blessings, demise of their enemies, do not be discouraged, doth a fool understand, enemies shall perish, every doubt will fly, flourish in the courts of God, frivolous stuff, glory to God, God is over all, God's goodness, grateful, help and comfort give, I will triumph, in their old age, it is a good thing, journey's end, joy, loves us unconditionally, made me glad, magnificent and magnanimous God, mighty words, money cannot buy, name them one by one, peace, planted in the house of the Lord, psalmist's praise, see what God has done, sing praises unto thy name, spring up as grass, stop complaining, thankful, Thanksgiving Sunday, the cross, the sheep of his pasture, the wicked, thy thoughts are very deep, to give thanks unto the Lord, trust in jesus, undeserving children, warm the cockles of God's heart, wisdom, workers of iniquity, you will keep singing, your home on high, your reward in heaven
Psalm 92:1. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High:
Okay friends, it’s Thanksgiving Sunday in this great and good land of Canada, so let’s open with something rather appropriate nuh, something that would make life much more interesting if we did it as often as we should.
Oh my fellow believers, let’s count our blessings, as we raise our voices heavenward in a sacrifice of praise, worship and thanksgiving. Please sing with me enthusiastically and sincerely because we have a lot of blessings to be thankful for.
‘When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
Refrain: Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your blessings, see what God has done! Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your many blessings, see what God has done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear? Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly, And you will keep singing as the days go by. Refrain:
When you look at others with their lands and gold, Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold; Count your many blessings, money cannot buy Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high. Refrain:
So, amid the conflict whether great or small, Do not be discouraged, God is over all; Count your many blessings, angels will attend, Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.
Refrain: Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your blessings, see what God has done! Count your blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.’
Oh friends, if we truly count our blessings, I’m sure that we’d all be surprised by what God has done in our lives. So please let’s stop complaining about petty stuff and instead give thanks for every little thing that we enjoy.
And we do enjoy a lot of things that most of the world doesn’t, so let’s start being grateful for what we have rather than complain about the frivolous stuff we don’t have.
And our Bit for today tells us exactly that. ‘It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High:’
Yes friends, it is indeed right and mete to sing praises for the Lord’s goodness to us, the undeserving children of men. He has done so much for us that we can never ever dream of repaying any of it.
And He doesn’t do it for repayment, but because He made us, we are the sheep of His pasture and He LOVES us unconditionally. Oh my people, just His unconditional LOVE alone is worth more than we can ever ask or imagine.
And if we add all the other things our wonderful God has done, is doing and will do for us, there is no doubt that we should be mucho mucho thankful and grateful, since we truly don’t deserve any of it.
Now let’s continue singing the praises of our magnificent and magnanimous God from Psalm 92. ‘It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High: To show forth (declare) thy LOVING-kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night.
Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery (lute or lyre); upon the harp with a solemn (harmonious or melodic) sound. For thou Lord hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.’ (Ps.92: 1-4)
Ah mih breddren, can you imagine those long ago days when our great God was praised both morning and evening? Hn!
Today, because of our busy society, we’d be lucky to praise Him once, much less twice. But that’s what He deserves, and if we truly put our minds to it, we can raise our voices at least twice a day in praise and prayer.
So let’s promise ourselves to faithfully offer up praise both morning and evening nuh my fellow believers, for that will surely warm the cockles of God’s heart and give us a peace and joy that only those who trust in Jesus will ever know.
Now let’s continue with the psalmist’s praise. ‘O Lord, how great are thy works! And thy thoughts are very deep. A brutish (senseless) man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this. When the wicked spring (up) as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:
But thou, Lord, art most high for evermore. For, lo, thine enemies, O Lord, for, lo, thine enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. But my horn (strength) shalt thou exalt like a unicorn (wild ox):
I shall be anointed with fresh oil. Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies, and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me. The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat (plump) and flourishing (green); To show that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.’ (Ps.92:5-15)
Yes friends, that is what can be expected of those who place their trust in and surrender their lives to Almighty God! They will grow and flourish like the tall and stately cedars trees in Lebanon, see the demise of their enemies, and even more, will continue to bear fruit and flourish in their old age!
Wow! Glory to God my people for His goodness to the undeserving children of men! How can we not give Him much thanks and praise for all His mighty works in our lives eh?
So please, as we fill His sanctuary this Thanksgiving Sunday morning, let’s remember to count our many blessings and give Him the appropriate thanks and praise nuh, for that’s the wisdom of the ages. Much LOVE!
…if you’re alive today…you’re blessed…and thus owe the Lord many thanks…
Visit the Scrip-Bit Blog at https://randyobrien50.wordpress.com
13 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brand new day, a glorious future, a load of care, alive and kicking, all is lost, angels, believers in Jesus Christ, blessed shalt thou be, blessings, burdened, cattle, Charels Stanley, comfort, commandments, consequences, count your blessings, day and night, discouraged, enthusiasm, every doubt will fly, every sphere of life, everyday actions, eyes fixed straight ahead, focusing, fractious, glad to be alive, glory, glory hallelujah, glory to God, God is over all, God's will, great or small, halfway home, hands on the plough, hearken to God's voice, heavenly Father, help, home on high, honour, in the city, in the field, insignificant thnings, journey's end, joyful time, keep singing, kine, life's billows, LOVE, LOVE of God, loving kindness, magnanimous, magnificent, mea culpa, miracles, miserable, money cannot buy, name them one by one, new mercies, not turning back, obedient, obey God, offspring, overtake thee, praise, praise and worship, reward in heaven, see what God has done, Selah, sense of purpose, set thee on high, sincere, stipulated condition, take for granted, tempest tossed, thankful, the breath of God, the breath of life, the conflict, the cross, the fruit of thy body, truth, watches over us, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, zenith
Deuteronomy 28:3. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
Welcome to another brand new day with brand new mercies and LOVING-kindness my fellow believers in Jesus Christ!
Now I’ve been guided to open today’s proceedings with this li’l ditty that we all know and LOVE, but don’t, or very seldom practice. Otherwise we wouldn’t be so fractious and miserable, and there’d be much more of the LOVE of God in us, shown through our everyday actions.
So let’s all sing now in joyful but serious and sincere enthusiasm, truth and belief, ‘Count Your Blessings.’ And let each of us count the blessings in our own lives as we sing, so that it will be more real to each of us.
‘When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done. Refrain: Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your blessings, see what God has done! Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your many blessings, see what God has done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear? Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly, And you will keep singing as the days go by. Refrain: Count your blessings…
When you look at others with their lands and gold, Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold; Count your many blessings—money cannot buy Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high. Refrain: Count your blessings…
So, amid the conflict whether great or small, Do not be discouraged, God is over all; Count your many blessings, angels will attend, Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end. Refrain: Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.’
Yes friends, if we have counted our many blessings as we sang that wonderful hymn of praise and worship, I am sure that we all have been surprised and amazed at all the wonderful things our magnificent and magnanimous God has done in our lives.
The problem though is many of those things might be small and somewhat insignificant, so we just roll along taking them for granted. But just stop for a moment and consider what our lives would be like if all those blessings we’ve named were absent from our lives eh. Selah!
Yes my brethren, our lives would be nowhere near as happy and comfortable as they now are. So the lesson is to never take those small, insignificant things for granted, because that’s where God works most of His miracles in our lives.
And all God’s children loudly and gratefully declare: ‘All praise, honour and glory be to our heavenly Father, who watches over us day and night. Guides and protects us, And never lets us out of His sight!’
Ah mih people, I can’t help but be amazed at the greatness and wonder of the awesome God we serve! Now, since it’s Wednesday, let’s declare our Wednesday Wail with enthusiasm, truth and a strong sense of purpose.
Wailing: ‘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 fellow faithful believers, this world might not be the greatest, but every morning we awake, we should be exceedingly thankful for that breath of God that’s still flowing through our bodies, because it means we’re alive and kicking and have so much to look forward to as we make our pilgrim’s journey with the Lord on our side.
We just have to put our hands strong and steadfast to the plough and keep looking ahead to the promise of a great and glorious future with Jesus! Believe me friends, it will be such a joyful time! Glory Hallelujah!
That brings us to our Bit; such a glorious promise! ‘Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.’
Yes my precious people of God, like the scholars inform us: ’28:3-6. These verses contain six blessings that extend to every sphere of life.’
Now let’s check out the other five. ‘Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body (offspring), and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine (cattle), and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store (kneading bowl). Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.’ (Deut.28:4-6)
Now what could be better than that eh mih breddren? Nothing really! But unfortunately there’s a stipulated condition of God’s before all of that can happen.
Listen up: ‘And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.’ (Deut.28:1-2)
Yes Friends, for the blessings to flow, we need to be obedient to God’s will and purpose! But the beautiful part is that when we’re obedient, the blessings shall overtake us! We don’t have to go chasing them, they will chase us, and eventually overtake us! Glory to God my people!
So please, let’s be wise today, be obedient and sincere, and dwell on God’s word, so that the promised blessings can run us down and overtake us. Now that is indeed wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!
…as Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) so rightly says…the best way to live this life…is to simply obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him…
P.S. Sincere mea culpas. The computer and I were both slow this morning. (smile) Much LOVE!
08 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ascension, believe in Jesus, christianity, death, disobedient, EasterMessiah, eternal life, Father forgive them, forgiveness, free, glory to God, God created the heaven and the earth, Good Friday, good works, goodness, grace, grief, guilt, holiness, Hours of Power Devotional, I AM, I am the resurrection, idols, in the beginning, Jesus Christ, joy, joyous celebration, Lazarus, LOVE, loving kindness, maturity in Christ, mercy, mistakes, no strings attached, reconcile, resurrection, righteousness., robert h schuller, saltwater, salvation, shame, sinful, sins, strength, sunshine, that says it all, the cross, the greatest, the Life, the Lord God of Abraham Isaac and jacob, the sanctuary, thy way O God, true and living God, victims, who is so great a God
Psalm 77:13. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary (holiness): who is so great a God as our God?
Oh friends, I do hope we all had strong beginnings to our new work week yesterday, and that those strong beginnings will continue into today, Tuesday, as we do the Lord’s bidding and grow in strength and maturity in Christ Jesus.
I had a good day yesterday as I was out and about in the city having lunch with some friends whom I hadn’t seen before and visiting some older folks at home. But boy, was the sun ever hot, and I was doing this stuff between noon and early afternoon.
The duchess believes that this is the hottest the sun has ever been since we began visiting Tobago some four years ago. Who knows though? The sun is supposed to be hot in these parts, and that’s why I came, isn’t it; for sunshine and saltwater? (smile)
Anyway, today I want to share something called ‘No Strings Attached,’ from Gramps Schuller’s (Robert H. Schuller) Hours of Power Devotional.
Listen up closely. ‘Christianity is a religion based on mercy. It is rooted in forgiveness. Of all the religions in the world, Christianity is the only belief system that accepts grace as the source of salvation. Every other religion is based on good works – work hard enough or be good enough and you will earn your salvation, your heaven, your Nirvana.
Christianity alone says, ‘You can’t do it. No one is perfect. We all make mistakes. We all suffer from guilt and shame. We are all victims. But Jesus has died on the cross with these final words: ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’ (Luke 23:34). He has risen again. He has paid for my sins. He has paid for yours. The gift of salvation is free – no strings attached.’
Glory Hallelujah my fellow believers! And isn’t that the awesome and glorious truth. That’s why we can always loudly, proudly and truthfully say that OUR GOD IS THE GREATEST!
And that provides the answer to our Bit: ‘Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary (holiness): who is so great a God as our God?’
Oh friends, I know I promised that yesterday would be the last day for that particular Bit, but if you were paying close attention, you’d have noticed that we only spoke about Christ’s birth, not his death, resurrection and ascension, as we had intended to. So obviously we couldn’t be finished. (smile)
And in a few weeks’ time we’ll be coming up to those days of painful grief and then of joyous celebration, as we commemorate the Easter Season. And isn’t that a glorious season?
It certainly it is, for though Jesus’ birth celebrated at Christmas time is huge. Easter is the fulfillment of God’s great promises, to provide a Messiah, to reconcile us to Himself and provide eternal salvation through His free offering of grace to all those who belief in His Son, Jesus Christ! Oh Glory to God my people!
How can anyone be greater than Him when out of the goodness and LOVING-kindness of His heart, He sacrificed His One and Only Son so that we, His most precious, but also very disobedient and sinful creation could be righteously welcomed back into His holy fold? No other supposed deity can, or has ever done anything like that!
As Gramps Schuller says above; salvation is a free gift of God, with no strings attached! All the sinner has to do is to believe in and on Jesus Christ! What could be simpler that that eh? NOTHING really!
So when Good Friday rolls around, though it is filled with the pain and suffering and heartache endured by Jesus, we can still call it ‘Good’ because that is when our sins were paid for.
It wasn’t good for Jesus, though He bore it with a stiff upper lip and all that, but it was surely good for us, because without Good Friday, we could not have had Easter Sunday, when He miraculously rose from the dead and with it offered the promise that all who die in Him, will again rise in Him!
Oh what a great and LOVING God we serve and worship my people! THERE IS NONE OTHER LIKE HIM! That’s for sure.
And what amazes me about the other faiths out there is that they either serve dead gods, or idols created by man’s hand. Now how can something I create be my god and do all sorts of stuff for me eh? It just doesn’t sound very logical.
And please note too, has there ever been any other of the supposed gods who died and rose again from the dead? No way! Only our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ has ever done that! So why would I choose to worship any other God eh?
And on another point of interest, has anybody else ever brought anybody back from the dead after they had been in the grave for four days? NO!
But our Lord and Saviour Jesus did! Read the full account in John 11. He raised His friend Lazarus from the dead after he had been entombed for four days. All praise and glory to our great God!
After praying to His heavenly Father, ‘he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin (wrapped with a cloth). Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.’ (John 11:43-44)
Now tell me, who else has ever raised a human body buried for four days, and then raised Himself from the dead after being entombed for three days eh?
NOBODY BUT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!
And we’ll definitely close this Bit (smile) with these true and immortal words of Jesus re resurrection and life. ‘Jesus said unto her (Lazarus’ sister Martha), I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead (may die), yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11:25-26)
Now friends, that’s a question we must all ask ourselves, and hopefully, for all of us, the answer is a resounding YES!
And finally, hear this verifying statement from the scholars. ’11:25. I am the resurrection is one of Jesus’ greatest “I am” statements, signifying His power to give eternal life.’
What more can I say eh? Nothing but I do hope that during these last few days the evidence I’ve provided has convinced us that the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is indeed the GREATEST and the ONE and ONLY TRUE and LIVING GOD! Much LOVE!
…in the beginning…God created the heaven and the earth… (Gen.1:1) …that says it all…
14 Apr 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a cloudless blue sky, a cry of anguish, a glorious Tuesday, a song of praise, accomplish all our desires, affliction, all that labour and are heavy laden, appreciation, brokeness, Christianity means action, come unto me, common sense, each step of the way, elevate our earthly lives, enhances growth, every experience is an opportunity to grow, fat fannies, fear the Lord, forgiveness, fulfilling, hungry, I have not refrained my lips, I have preached righteousness, I told you so, I will give you rest, in the great congregation, it's a little too late, learn from our mistakes, Limping Home, LOVE, mocked and maligned, never stop learning, O Lord thou knowest, One Year Book of Bible promises, pay my vows, praise, proclaimed the good news of righteousness, proclamation of God's Word, prodigal journey, Psalm 22, rest, Ruth Harms Calkin, seed of jacob, soiled and shabby, sprintime, stimulating, sttoped and stupid, sweep it under the rug, the cross, the end of our tether, the judgements of thy mouth, the Love Revolution of Jesus, thirsty for God, tons of bright sunshine, truth, turn to our Higher Power, unburdening of our souls, unfathomable love, variety of happenings, walking continually with God, walking with god every day, welcome, wisdom
Psalm 40:9. I have preached righteousness (proclaimed the good news of righteousness) in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained (restrained) my lips, O Lord, thou knowest.
Ah Friends it’s the promising start of what hopefully will be a totally glorious Tuesday!
Yesterday wasn’t bad nuh, with the decent sunshine, warm temps and all that, but late in the afternoon the sun chose to be hidden betwixt the dark clouds and the rain. Let’s hope for a cloudless blue sky and tons of bright sunshine this spring day.
And yuh know Friends, I saw something yesterday in my One More Day Devotional for People with Chronic Illness that got me thinking I should share with you. It says that ‘Every day, every experience is an opportunity to grow.’
And isn’t that the God-awesome truth my people. Our experiences are like the springtime, which enhances growth. And we’d be rather foolish if we did not use the wide variety of happenings that we all experience to enlighten and elevate our earthly lives. It’s like the old saying, we should learn from our mistakes.
And remember too, that once we’re alive we should always be learning. We should NEVER stop learning! Learning something new every day, keeps the doctor and the funeral director away! (smile)
And as an added bonus, here’s this poem from The One Year Book of Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. I couldn’t help but include it since it portrays so many of us so vividly.
It’s titled ‘LIMPING HOME,’ and astutely declares: ‘Lord With a crooked stick for a cane I’m limping home. Mocked and maligned Stooped and stupid Soiled and shabby I limp toward You. You could say, “I told you so.” You could say, “It’s a little too late.” You could say, “Wait while I think it over.”
You could sweep me under the rug – We both know I deserve far less. But when I see the cross And the Man who died there Suddenly I know I limp Toward unfathomable LOVE And there is forgiveness Rushing toward me. I don’t ask for a banquet, Lord Nor do I need a gold ring. I’m so hungry So thirsty For You.’
More awesome truth Friends! We try to do it our way, on our own, but eventually realize that that’s impossible. And hopefully, when we’ve reached the end of our tether, we turn to our Higher Power, who is indeed the One that causes us to successfully accomplish all our desires.
And it’s interesting to note, that on our prodigal journey back to the Father, we suddenly discover the appreciation and wonderful welcome that’s waiting there for us, and the hunger and thirst for His unfathomable LOVE just overwhelms us. The sad part though, is that it often takes our brokenness to bring us to that realization.
And the rather appropriate promise for that poem come from these beautiful and welcoming words of Jesus. ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ (Matt.11:28)
But for some ungodly reason, too many of us hesitate and/or refuse to accept that promise of rest and unburdening of our souls, and thus struggle more than is necessary to make it through this earthly life. That’s definitely not even common sense, much less wisdom my people!
So where then are common sense and wisdom found, you ask? Oh my brethren, those two marvellous traits are found in walking continually with God and doing what our Bit declares. ‘I have preached righteousness (proclaimed the good news of righteousness) in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained (restrained) my lips, O Lord, thou knowest.’
Yes my people, the proclamation of God’s Word to the world is a rather integral part of our earthly lives!
And we’ll continue with the stuff I had left over from yesterday, which consists of a few more verses from Psalm 22 – A cry of anguish and song of praise. Listen to Bruh David exhort us: ‘Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed (descendants) of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him (hold Him in awesome reverence), all ye the seed of Israel.
For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard. My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.’ (Ps.22: 23-25)
Oh Friends, how wonderful and productive this life, and this world would be, if we only carried out those vows and promises! But unfortunately, that’s only going to happen, if and when we get truly serious about promoting and promulgating the LOVE Revolution of Jesus Christ.
As individuals, we have to ask ourselves, how interested we really are in doing that, then get up off our fat fannies and do it. Remember Friends, that Christianity is an ACTION word, and nothing is more fulfilling and stimulating than walking with God every day, each step of the way. Much LOVE!
…with my lips…have I declared…all the judgements of thy mouth… (Ps.119:13)
30 Oct 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 3 Canal, a brand new day, a fool's wisdom, a positive sign, Achilles heel, almighty god, appreciate the blessing, bland, blessed, blessings, blood, Bruh David, buckler, Calvary, common sense, counsels of old, dangers, deliverance, disappointments, disastrous mess, disobedient, distance ourselves from God, doing God's work, dull, end of sermon, enemies, enjoy the goodness of God, enjoy this earthly life, enriched, faithfulness and truth, feckless, fellow believers, fickle, flowing through our mortal bodies, foolish, forgiveness, friends, further from the truth, glorifying God, glorifying man, Glory Halleujah, God's direction, gospel truth, have heaven right here on earth, have life more abundantly, high tower, horn of my salvation, I will call upon the Lord, I will exalt thee, I will praise thee, Isaiah, Jesus, joy, living beggarly, LOVE, magnificent and magnanimous God, magnify God, mercies, minding other people's business, miserable, Moses, my brethren, my father's God, obedience, obedient servant, obnoxious, our Lord and Saviour, peace of mind, pedestal, praise, psalm 118, put it into practice, redeemed, redeemed people, remove god from our society, shield, simpleton, sinful, singing praises, smile, spewing forth, standing steadfast and strong, talkative age, thanks and praise, thanskgiving, the blessings of God, the breath of life, the cross, the Holy Spirit, the Lord is my fortress, The Lord is my rock, the Lord is my strength and song, the Lord is worthy to be praised, the Lord's salvation, the loving-kindness of God, the One and Only Living God, the spilled blood of christ, this is the day the Lord has made, thou art my God, tragedy, troubles, truth, ungrateful, untrustworthy, up heifer dust creek, we will rejoice and be glad in it, wisdom, worldly foolishness, worthless, writer's block, wrong
Psalm 118:28. Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.
Oh Friends, it’s a brand new day! Glory Hallelujah! A brand new day filled with new mercies, new blessings, and new forgiveness! Wow! And to make matters even better, we’re alive to enjoy it all! What a most wonderful Deity we serve and worship my people: the ONE and ONLY TRUE LIVING God!
So let’s give Him some thanks and praise, as we loudly and boldly proclaim these wise words of the psalmist in thanksgiving for the Lord’s salvation. Please declare with me: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; we WILL rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24)
Yes my people, let’s enjoy the goodness and LOVING-kindness of our magnificent and magnanimous God today and everyday, as long as the breath of life is flowing through our mortal bodies. That is simply wisdom and common sense, for if He grants us all those things, we’d indeed be foolish not to enjoy them.
And believe me, for whatever reason(s), some of us are indeed foolish enough not to enjoy the blessings of God, thinking it wrong and sinful to enjoy what the Lord has provided. Nothing could be further from the truth my people!
Why would the Lord provide all that wonderful stuff if He didn’t intend for us to enjoy it eh? And why would Jesus, our great Lord and Saviour declare that He had come to earth, so that we could have life, and have it more abundantly eh, if He didn’t mean for us to be joyful, even in the rough times? (John 10:10)
So Friends, I implore us to stop having these foolish ideas and thoughts about enjoying life nuh. We’re supposed to have heaven right here on earth; standing steadfast and strong while doing God’s work – and enjoying it too, not living beggarly and miserable.
And believe me again, if we are truly doing God’s work, with the peace of mind that He provides, then we will truly enjoy this earthly life, regardless of the many dangers, disappointments and troubles with which it is fraught. End of sermon! (smile)
Ah mih breddren, it never ceases to amaze and amuse me how the Holy Spirit will give me a starting idea, then let me run with it, or rather, help to let it flow smoothly! I would therefore be wrong, foolish and disobedient, if I didn’t enjoy and appreciate that blessing.
And you know there’s no greater tragedy for a writer than writer’s block! Thankfully, the Lord doesn’t allow me to suffer from it too often and for too long. Then I’d really be up heifer dust creek. (smile)
And Friends, our Bit this morning comes from that same Psalm 118, where the psalmist is giving thanks for the Lord’s salvation. And it’s a rather appropriate Bit too; highlighting what our behaviour ought to be, as it boldly and rightly declares: ‘Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.’
Oh Friends, what words of joy, LOVE, obedience and truth! If we do that sincerely, on a continuous basis, then our lives will be forever enriched and blessed!
And it’s mostly because we’re not fully and sincerely embracing that bit of gospel truth that our lives and our world are in such a disastrous mess. We are trying desperately to remove God from all aspects of our society, but that’s a fool’s wisdom my people.
We claim to have been redeemed by the spilled blood of Christ, through His sacrificial death on the cross at Calvary, so why aren’t we more thankful and moving closer to Him eh, instead of being obnoxious, ungrateful and trying to distance ourselves from Him?
If we truly believe that we are indisputably redeemed, then we ought to be singing praises like redeemed people; praises like Isaiah’s declaration: ‘O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.’ (Is.25:1)
Yes Friends, those are the kinds of words that ought to be emanating from our hearts, souls and mouths. Not the simpleton, worldly foolishness that we’re now spewing forth in this oh so talkative age, when we really have nothing much to talk about because our lives are dull, bland and miserable.
As 3 Canal would say, we have no real business, so we keep on minding the business of others, glorifying man with his Achilles heel, putting him on a flimsy pedestal instead of Almighty God. Oh my brethren, it’s high time we got some business of our own, by turning to our mighty God for help, and start glorifying Him, rather than mortal, worthless, fickle, feckless, untrustworthy man!
We should be singing the Lord’s praises like His obedient servant Moses did: ‘The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him a habitation (praise Him); my father’s God, and I will exalt him.’ (Ex.15:2)
And we’ll end with more worthy words of praise, this time from Bruh David, another of God’s obedient servants. And just as I was about to write those last few words in my rough draft, the lights flickered out for a couple seconds.
Chuh! It’s a good thing I wasn’t on the computer, then I might have lost some stuff and be sorely disappointed. Consequently, I’ll take it as a positive sign, (smile) and continue in God’s direction. Therefore, please declare with me, my Friends and fellow believers, these words of thanksgiving for deliverance, as Bruh David saw it.
‘I will LOVE thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength (lit. my rock), in whom I will trust; my buckler (shield), and the horn (strength) of my salvation, and my high tower (stronghold). I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.’ (Ps.18:1-3)
Now that’s wisdom from on high, my brethren! So let’s go out today and put it into practice, put it to the test nuh; praise and magnify our most worthy God, and see if our lives don’t improve substantially. Much LOVE!
…a believer’s faith is only as strong as…the sincere thanksgiving in his heart…
30 Oct 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abuse of the law, almighty god, antagonistic groups, arrogance, believe in Jesus, blessed, Blessed are the peacemakers, blessed day, blessings, blood of jesus, breath to see another day, children of God, christ jesus, Christian Church, Christian Gentiles, Christian Jews, chuh, commandments, conversations, divisions, earth shattering, encouraged, enlightened, enmity, Ephesians, everyday aspects, faithful, fantastic happenings, far off, fool's wisdom, foolishness, forgiveness, Gentiles, get in a groove, God's dynamic presence, God's goodness, grace, gracious and faithful God, hatred, health, incensed, Isaac and Jacob, Jews, lack of faith, leap of faith, lip service, lo and behold, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, miracles, moral distance, Mozambique, mudane business of living, new man, nigh, One Body, partition, passport renewal, peace, power, privilege, rambling on, reconcile, relationship with god, resentment, serve and worship, skype, steups, strength, surrender, testifying, Thank You Lord, thankful, the cross, the god of Abraham, the law, the One True God, trust, ultimate, unity of believers, wealth, winning mood, wisdom, wonder of wonders
Matthew 5:9. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Oh Friends, right now it’s a wet, chilly autumn Wednesday morning in my area, although the weather people say that it will end up being sunny and warmish. (smile) But whatever it is, I’m very thankful, for the Lord has already blessed me three times since I’ve been up.
First off, He granted me health, wealth, strength and breath to see another glorious day. Now just that alone would be sufficient, but in His LOVING-kindness, I had a second blessing.
Before my computer could even warm up properly, I heard this ringing noise coming from it, only to cheerfully discover that it was my young daughter calling me via skype, from somewhere in Maputo, the capital of the island of Mozambique, off the east coast of Africa.
Thence commenced a forty-five minute conversation – yes mih D, that’s how long it was- which is partly why the Bit’s a tad late. Notice I didn’t put all the blame on you either. (smile) Strangely though, we seem to have longer and better conversations when she’s away, than when she’s here. Think on that nuh.
And wonder of wonders, while telling her about my inability to find an envelope with some passport renewal forms and my old passport that was somewhere in the office, lo and behold, I rolled back my chair a little, looked around and spied this brown envelope sitting in full view on a pile of record albums, pulled it out… and voila! There were the missing forms and old passport.
Thank You Lord! And imagine it was right there in front of me all the time, but my eyes weren’t open. And that’s the way we often are my people, when coming to our relationship with Almighty God; things are right there before us, but because of our lack of faith or whatever, we just can’t see them.
So Friends, the ole fella’s in a winning mood this morning! And then they say that we don’t serve a gracious and faithful God… Chuh Steups! Foolishness yes mih people!
The problem with those people is that they don’t truly serve and worship the ONE TRUE GOD, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, so how do they expect to receive His endless grace, tender mercies and overwhelming forgiveness eh?
The crux of the matter my brethren, is that before we can enjoy God’s goodness and LOVING-kindness we have to take that leap of faith, where we truly believe in Jesus, seriously trust and consciously surrender our entire lives to Him. Only then will we see fantastic happenings in our lives.
And please don’t expect big miracles and enormous wealth, power and privilege when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, for that’s not how He works. Granted, you can get those things, but generally speaking it’s in the bland, everyday aspects of our lives that our Lord likes to work.
Just look at the blessings He granted me this morning. They’re not earth shattering, but are nonetheless very important in me having a blessed day. That’s why I keep encouraging us to look for the Lord in the small things, the mundane business of living, for He wants to be involved in every aspect of our being. And if you only look for Him in the big, miraculous happenings, you’ll never truly understand and/or appreciate His dynamic presence.
Anyway, time for me to stop rambling on – once I get in this groove, I can go on all day (smile). So let’s get to our Bit: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.’
Now yesterday I promised some more scripture on this Bit, and being faithful, or at least trying to be faithful like our ever-so-faithful God, here it is. Listen to these words of divine truth from Bruh Paul to the Ephesians, re the unity of believers.
‘But now in Christ Jesus ye who were sometimes (once) were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he (he himself) is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition (division) between us;
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make (create) in himself of twain (the two) one new man, so making peace;
And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain (put to death) the enmity thereby: And came an preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.’ (Eph.2:13-17)
Now here’s what the scholars have to say about all that. ‘2:13. Because Jews had access to God through His temple in Jerusalem, they were said to be nigh. But Gentile nations, geographically removed from the temple, were said to be far off. These terms of space came to denote moral distance, so that to be “nigh” was to have a proper relationship with God, and to be “far off” was to have an improper relationship with Him.
2:14-15. Who hath made both one: Jesus has formed the two antagonistic groups of Jew and Gentile into a single new party, the Christian church. He did this by removing the middle wall of partition, that is the Mosaic Law. The law was meant to protect Jews from pagan corruptions, but by misconstruing the purpose of the law, the Jews felt superior to the Gentiles, who were incensed at this arrogance.
So Jesus abolished this enmity (hatred), caused by an abuse of the law, by making the law invalid for His church. Of twain one new man: As above, Christian Jews and Christian Gentiles now compose this “one new man” or Christian church.’
So Friends, if we’re supposed to be one church in Christ, how come we’re still so divisive and resentful of each other eh? The simple and obvious answer is that we’re not truly following God. We’re only paying lip service, if so much to it. And that my people, is the wisdom of a fool!
Consequently mih breddren, I do hope that all we’ve said today, has both enlightened and encouraged us, thus making us want to embrace the LOVING-kindness of Jesus even more than when we first begun, because that is truly the ultimate in wisdom. Much LOVE!
…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…that’s a proven fact my people…I’m testifying to it…
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