21 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bad influence, a bed of pain, a broken world, a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, a valuable experience, all things are possible, an open door, an unworthy friend, bad attitudes, beside still waters, Bible, build a new life, bury the hatchet, calamity, chaotic world, christianity, Christians, cleans up collected clutter, comforting us, concentrate on today's troubles, courage to discard, desires trouble, discover new skills, do all things, Dr. Robert H Schuller, drying our tears, duty bound, embrace Jesus as Lord and Saviour, faith, friendship of Christ, frustrates you, future troubles, gospel truth, green pastures, hardships, hidden talents, hiding your real talents, holy spirit, Hour of Power Devotional, hurry, in god's eyes, interesting possibilities, Jesus Christ, leads you down a new road, lock stock and barrel, LOVE, lurks furtively in your path, lying undetected, makes a cold heart warm, makes a greedy man generous, makes a hard man compassionate, makes a person forget himself, makes you furious enough, mercy, no courage to leave, opportunities in disguise, paths of righteousness, problems, protects you from an unknown hazard, quit a job, renew, renewing our joy, restoring our souls, salvation, share His love with my neighbours, shelters you from a sin, slams a door in your face, start thinking of others, sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof, tears out of your life, the amazing love of Christ, the beloved of God, the dustbin of history, the good shepherd, the throes of trouble, through Christ who strengthens me, to fight for a good cause, to our advantage, too arrogant to believe, too blind to see, too busy to serve, too highly valued, too stubborn to accept, trouble, trouble teaches you valuable lessons, trust my friend Jesus, truth, Tuesday Mantra, unable to help, under cabbage fields, uplift, veins of gold, waiting to tempt you, When trouble is not trouble, wisdom, work week frustrations, worry
Matthew 6:33b. Sufficient unto the day is the evil (trouble, calamity) thereof.
And then it was Tuesday! Yes friends, I know it’s somewhat surprising the speed with which Monday disappeared. No sooner had it shown up with its new work week frustrations, then it was gone! That’s the way the days seem to work nowadays. Remember what Jesus said: ‘Sufficient unto the day is the evil (trouble, calamity) thereof.’ (Matt. 6:33b). That means we have to concentrate on the troubles of the reigning day. However, by the time you can get a handle on the problems of a sunny and very cold Tuesday, that too will be thrown into the dustbin of History, never to be remembered, and you’ll be dealing with the calamities of Wednesday!
Ah Lord eh! It just seems to be another set of troubles day after day, especially in this currently chaotic and disastrous world Before you can finish with one, another one pops up. That’s why it’s so wonderful to have Jesus in our lives, because with His Holy Spirit indwelling us, and the tools and promises to be found in His Word, we are guaranteed a way to handle even the most worrying and troubling of troubles! (smile)
And talking about trouble, I want to share an interesting expose on the subject from Dr. Robert Schuller’s Hour of Power Book of Daily Meditation and Inspiration. This meditation is titled: ‘When is Trouble not Trouble?’ So please read with me. ‘When is trouble not trouble, you ask? When it protects you from an unknown hazard on the road ahead, or shelters you from a sin that, unknown to you, lurks furtively in your path waiting to tempt and trip you, then trouble is not trouble!
When trouble cleans up collected clutter that you valued too highly and did not have the courage to discard or destroy, or when it tears out of your life an unworthy friend whom you were unable to help and who was not a good influence on your life, then trouble is not trouble! When trouble makes you furious enough to fight for a good cause you were too busy to serve, or frustrates you so that you quit a job that was too long hiding your real talents and forces you to discover new skills and hidden talents that were lying undetected like veins of gold under cabbage fields, then trouble is not trouble!
When trouble cause two parties, long unspeaking, to bury the hatchet; when it makes a person forget himself and start thinking of others; when it makes a greedy man generous, a hard man compassionate, a cold heart warm, a thoughtless man considerate – then trouble is not without its reward! When trouble teaches you valuable lessons that you would have been too blind to see, too arrogant to believe, or too stubborn to accept any other way than by this bed of pain; when it slams a door in your face to force you out of a rut that you would never have had the courage to leave and leads you down a new road through an open door, then trouble may be a most valuable experience!’
And isn’t that gospel truth my people! What we consider trouble often unexpectedly opens up our hearts, minds, souls and bodies to better things, more interesting possibilities and exposes bad attitudes that we might be holding on to too tightly. Granted, none of us desires to have troubles, but since we’re living in a broken, troubled world, we’re all going to experience trouble at some time or the other. And when we do, it will be to our great advantage to try and learn something from it, for as they say, problems are merely opportunities in disguise, meaning that though they may show up as hardships, they are actually means to help us live a fuller and better life.
However, we have to look at those problems in a more thoughtful way to divine the hidden opportunities they may present. And I know that all of us have had experiences with several, or even all of those trouble not being trouble scenarios that Dr. Schuller has pointed out. Hopefully, we have been wise enough to have seen the hidden opportunities that they presented. And if not, knowing what we now know, then in the future, we will endeavour to seek out those hidden opportunities, so that we can uplift, renew or even build a new life around.
And please don’t open your eyes in surprise about future troubles,, because it’s certain that while we’re living in this troubled world, we will always have troubles, be they piddling or mind-boggling. (smile) The important thing to understand is that with Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, all things are possible, and therefore we can do all things through the strength He provides us. (Phil. 4:13)
And if He is our Guiding Light, then we will understand that His Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths. (Ps. 119:105) That means He will be our Good Shepherd, leading us down the paths of righteousness to green pastures, beside still waters, restoring our souls, renewing our joy, and drying our tears; in other words, comforting us whenever we are engulfed in the throes of trouble. (Ps. 23)
And now, with all of this trouble stuff fully understood, (smile) let’s go home declaring (yesss!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, 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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
And having said all of that, we’re now duty bound to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…trouble is only trouble…when you think it’s trouble…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
08 Oct 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: alive and kicking, became obedient unto death, being found in fashion as a man, being in the form of God, Bible, christianity, diligent servants, don't do the right things, duty bound, even the death of the cross, faith, god, he humbled himself, holy spirit, hurry, hypocrites, if there be any wicked way in me, in god's eyes, Jesus Christ, know my anxious thoughts, know my heart, lead me in the way everlasting, LOVE, masquerading as Christians, meditate on the Word, mercy, new mercies and compassions, permeating the land, salvation, search me O God, share His love with my neighbours, sinfulness, the beloved of God, the breath of life, the dustbin of history, the form of a servant, the light of the world, the salt of the earth, to be qual with God, too comfortable, too fearful, too lazy, trust my friend Jesus, truth, try me, Tuesday Mantra, ungodliness, walking our talk, wisdom, without complaining, worry
Philippians 2:8. And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Tuesday, Oh Tuesday! How we LOVE thee! For thou hast pushed that ugly, ole, disruptive, overbearing Monday out of our way! And for that, we give thee much thanks, Oh Tuesday! Yes friends, many of us are happy to see Monday flushed into the dustbin of history, because it brings out too many negative things in us. But that’s just because we don’t do the right things in the first place.
But nonetheless, we’re alive and kicking this Tuesday morning, so let’s give our wonderful God some thanks and praise for that, as well as for all of His new mercies and compassions that He’s poured out on us on this brand-new day, that’s sunny, but a tad cool in my neighbourhood.
Please pray with me: ‘Oh heavenly Father, we thank You for the breath of life to see this new day, and ask that You let Your Holy Spirit lead and guide us in the way You desire us to go, so that we can be good and diligent servants as we engage in our daily walk. Please help us to be the salt of the earth and light of the world that You desire us to be. We pray it all in the holy name of Jesus! Amen.’
Now, that means listening to whatever the Holy Spirit has to say to each of us, then getting up and doing His bidding. And there’s oodles of work to be done, if we ever hope to make something godly and righteous of this sinful world. The point being, that we can only make any worthwhile changes with the help of Jesus and His Holy Spirit.
But there’s so much work to be done, that we cannot only touch the surface with Jesus, but we have to dig deep down in and with Him; study and meditate on the Word like there was no tomorrow, then right away put it into practice. For who knows if there will be any tomorrow? Our biggest problem, I believe, is not so much knowing the word, but putting it into practice, which ofttimes takes more than what many of us are willing to give.
Many of us know the word well enough to make some beneficial changes in our world, but the problem is getting us to make the effort, to put out the energy needed to make the sacrifices required to put those changes into effect. It’s all a matter of us being too lazy, too comfortable or too fearful. Remember, Jesus didn’t have to undergo the sufferation He underwent, but because of the Father’s great LOVE for his sinful creation, that’s us, and Jesus LOVE for the Father, He did it, without complaining too.
As the Bible tells us: ‘(Jesus) Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men (emptied himself of all his privileges): And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ (Phil. 2:6-8)
Yes my brethren, that’s what Christ did for us, so why can’t we become a li’l uncomfortable and do His work eh? Because we’re just a bunch of talkative, no good, lazy, compromising, comfortable and fearful hypocrites, masquerading as Christians! Yuh think, with the number of supposed believers in the world, if each one of us would get out into the world and act like we should, not join or compromise with the world, that the sinfulness and ungodliness that’s currently permeating the land would be as bad?
No way! But it’s just that we supposed believers are not prepared to stand up and sincerely fight for what we claim to believe in. And the longer we wait to pull up the reins on the soaring ungodliness, the worst it will become, until we won’t ever have a chance of stopping it. Oh my people, do we really want to see our grandchildren and their children living in a world that’s worse than this one?
Of course not! But to make that happen, we have to stand up strong and fight the enemy RIGHT NOW! It’s high time to stop all the talking, which we’re so good at, like the hypocrite Pharisees of Jesus’ day, and begin walking that talk. That’s the only way we will ever make any serious changes in our current sinful and ungodly world. And what a wonderful world we can bring about if we would just walk our talk a bit more than we’re currently doing.
But it actively requires Christ’s church, that’s His people, not the buildings, to get together and stop fighting against each other, to drop the animosity and petty differences that keep us apart. Christ is depending on us to do His work, and we cannot do it if we’re as divided and uncompromising as we are.
Oh my fellow saints, we desperately need to search our hearts and see what’s there and how we can make the necessary changes. It’s like Bruh David says in that great Psalm 139: ‘Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my (anxious) thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.’ (Ps. 139:23-24)
Yes my fellow saints, that’s what we all need to do TODAY, so that we can be on our way to becoming the true salt of the earth and light of the world as Jesus desires. End of Sermon! (smile) Now let’s go home declaring (oh heifer dust!!!) yes, my exclamation was much stronger today. (smile) Let’s go home declaring (yesss!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, 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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
And having said all of that, we are now duty bound to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…what’s it going to take… for Christians…to get up and truly act like Christians eh…another world war…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
18 Jun 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a calmitous and fearful place, artificial intelligence, be not afraid, be of good cheer, be strong and of a good courage, Bible, but of power love and a sound mind, christianity, climate change, crapaud smoke we pipe, deception, faith, god, God has not given us the spirit of fear, heat waves, holy spirit, hurry, I am the beloved of god, i have overcome the world, if any man will come after me, in god's eyes, in me ye might have peace, in the world ye shall have tribulation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, know the Word of God, let him deny himself, let not your heart be troubled, live the abundant life, LOVE, make thy way prosperous, misinformation, my peace I give unto you, natural disasters, neither be thou dismayed, not as the world gives, observe to do all that's written therein, Peace i leave with you, self-sacrifice, share His love with my neighbours, social media, sshall not depart out of thy mouth, take up his cross daily and follow me, that passes all understanding, the dustbin of history, the Father is with me, the Lord thy God is with thee, the peace of God, these things I have spoken unto you, thsi book of the law, tread very carefully, trust my friend Jesus, truth, Tuesday Mantra, wisdom, worry, yet I am not alone
2 Timothy 1:7. For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.
And then it was Tuesday…another Monday lost in the dustbin of history! And some of you are saying, ‘Thank the Lord!’ (smile) Anyway, according to my computer it’s going to very hot in my area again today with another strong, warm wind blowing it’s way through. But that’s what we expect from summer…well, except the continual strong winds. Right now though, too many places around the globe are having unexpected heat waves and unexpected rainfall, and other natural disasters, like tornadoes, earthquakes and volcano eruptions, very valid signs of climate change.
And those things, in conjunction with the strife-filled disasters that we ourselves have wrought, do serve to make our world a very calamitous and fearful place. That means one has to tread very carefully and examine everything we see and hear in a thorough manner just to ensure that it’s the truth and we’re not being deceived, as deception is rampant nowadays. Yes friends, with all the new technology, things like social media and Artificial Intelligence (AI) the stuff out there is very deceptive, slanted to either provide misinformation, or is often totally untrue.
That’s why believers must know the Word of God, so that they can protect themselves from the constant onslaught, the constant barrage of information being thrown at us in this Information Age. And the first thing we must know is that we’re not supposed to be afraid of engaging this world, for as Bruh Paul spells out in his message to Timothy, and consequently to us: ‘For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7)
Now that’s a very powerful scripture for us to hold on to, because it drives away the constant fear that so many people right now posses in this turbulent and chaotic world. And then, to bolster those memorable words of Bruh Paul to Timothy, there are these wonderful soul-easing, reassuring words of Jesus, promising His divine peace, that He spoke to the disciples when telling them of the coming of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, after He went away. ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27)
Please note friends, that the peace which our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ gives us is not like what the world calls peace. No! His peace is a higher kind of peace; one that is above the understanding of mankind. As Bruh Paul wrote to the Philippians: ‘And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:7) Now that’s the kind of peace we have when we sincerely embrace Jesus and continually meditate on His word.
And I particularly like this promise of peace that He gave to the disciples later on just before His crucifixion. He said to them: ‘Behold the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:32-33)
Wow! What reassuring and uplifting words from our Lord and Saviour! Though we will certainly have tribulation in this evil and ungodly world, we ought not to be fearful, but be of good cheer, because through His death and resurrection He’s conquered the world! And though Jesus knew that all His followers would desert Him in the upcoming rough days, He was assured of His heavenly Father’s company. Likewise my brethren, when we put our sincere and total trust in Christ, we can also be assured that whatever is happening to us in this crazy and disaster-filled world, we are not alone, but have His holy and reassuring presence right there with us, helping us to handle whatever is troubling us.
Oh friends, Jesus never said that following Him would be easy, in fact He knew and said that it would be difficult. Just listen to the requirements for being one of His disciples nuh. ‘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 indeed a rough row to hoe; being always ready for self-sacrifice and daily bearing one’s cross. But just as the Father never left Jesus alone in His earthly tribulation, Jesus will never leave us alone in ours, but will always help us to do His will.
And that’s where our faith comes in. All that we’ve spoken so far does not become real from little faith, but needs strong faith to carry them through. That’s why we need to spend much time in the word of God, also praying and talking to Him, so that our faith can be bolstered. And there’s no better direction on that than these words of the Lord to Joshua when He made him leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses. In no uncertain terms, the Lord said to Joshua:
‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (shall constantly be in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.’ (Josh. 1:8-9)
Oh my fellow believers there could be no better encouragement than that! But it’s up to each one of us to take it and work with it to achieve the plans God has for us, otherwise, crapaud smoke we pipe! It’s as simple as that! Now for those of us who are actively trying to live for Christ, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, 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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
And having said that, it now behooves us to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…only by meditating on God’s word…then actioning it…can we truly live the abundant life…that Christ died for us to have…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
16 Apr 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a Christ-like attitude, a new theatre of strife, as for me and my house, be grateful, be the salt of the earth, Bible, bring about positive change, called me to his eternal glory in Christ, Christian, christianity, Christians are action oriented, elect God-fearing leaders, god, hearts and souls, hurry, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, If God be for me who can be against me, Jesus, Jesus Christ, LOVE, LOVE is of God, make me strong firm and steadfast, one one cocoa full basket, share His love with my neighbours, sincere action figures, something good is going to happen to me, something good is going to happen to me today, step up to the plate, suffered a little while, the beloved of God, the dustbin of history, the foolishness of man, the fullness of life in Christ, the God of all grace, the light of the world, this is the day the Lord has made, this too shall pass, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, turn up their noses, we will rejoice and be glad in it, we will serve the Lord, will Himself restore me, wisdom, worry
Psalm 118:24. This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Then it was Tuesday, and another uncomfortable, disturbing Monday has been flung into the dustbin of History! There’s also no doubt that spring has seriously sprung now! Yes! We had some good showers in the mornings over the weekend, but by afternoon the sun had come out strong and vibrant, actually spreading some warmth, and yesterday was a particularly beautiful spring day, despite it being Monday. (smile) Today is supposed to be another of those beautiful days with temps in the high teens.
So let’s be grateful and thank our great God for all the blessings He’s bestowing on us, by gratefully declaring (yesss!!!): ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps. 118:24) And while we’re at it, why don’t we declare a few more very useful acclamations, like: ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ (Phil. 4:13) And what about this most useful one: ‘If God be for me, who can be against me? NOBODY!’ (Rom. 8:31)
Then there’s this non scriptural acclamation, but every bit as true: ‘Friends show their LOVE in times of trouble, not in happiness.’ (Euripides) And that’s the gospel truth! Oh how much better our world would be if supposed friends would show up in times of trouble and help, instead of running away like scared chickens! Next up is this wonderful acclamation first proclaimed by Joshua. ‘As for me and my house, we WILL follow the Lord; that’s for sure!’ (Josh. 24:15)
Now what about this gem: ‘And the God of all grace, who has called me to his eternal glory in Christ after I have suffered a little while, will Himself restore me and make me strong, firm and steadfast. Glory to God!’ (1 Pet. 5:10) Now that one is a bit long and somewhat tough to master both in memory and deed, but if we can ever get it right in our hearts and souls, our lives will be much better attuned to the vagaries and eccentricities of this world, because we’ll know without a doubt, that whatever comes against us is only for a time, and that our great God, will, in His time, restore us to the fullness of life in Christ Jesus.
Unfortunately though, a lot of people turn up their noses at acclamations, but that’s just the foolishness of man, because when we acclaim the scriptures or anything that is good and true, we reinforce the goodness and strength of God within ourselves, so when tragedy or trouble strike, we have enough confidence in our system to allow us to handle it with a good, Christ-like attitude. Finally, there’s this acclamation that sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say: ‘Something good is going to happen TO me today! Something good is going to happen THROUGH me today!’
And that’s exactly how it ought to be my brethren! Good things happen to us, and good things happen through us, for that’s the will of God. He delights in working through His wonderful followers. That’s why Jesus kept telling us to LOVE each other, for LOVE is of God. And if we’re showing true, brotherly LOVE to one another, then we’re behaving like God, and that’s what it’s all about…behaving like Christ as much as possible. And with our world in a sad and sorry state of strife, war, greed, hunger, poverty, sickness and natural disasters, we desperately need Christians to step up to the plate and be the salt of the earth and light of the world that Jesus expects us to be.
Oh my fellow believers, no one else is going to change our disastrous world if we don’t. Please, let’s understand that. Change, or rather positive and productive change will only come if we supposed Christians get up off of our lazy, comfortable, entitled fannies and do the work necessary to bring about positive change. We’ve got to stop the plentiful talking for which we’re so famous, and instead become serious and sincere action figures, who are getting things done, like Christ desires!
It’s sad to see our world degenerating, deteriorating more and more with each passing day. For every day we hear about a new theatre of strife, and none of the old ones are closed, as well as starvation and sickness somewhere else in our world of plenty. What’s wrong with us eh? And the sad part is that many of our leaders who are promulgating the negative stuff claim to be believers in Christ Jesus, to be Christians. But how can we reconcile their warlike and evil actions with a supposed Christian nature eh? No way!
The trouble also stems from the fact that too many of us believers claim we can’t do anything about the worldwide situation, and that might be true to a certain extent, but what about electing true God-fearing leaders eh? And what about the negative situations right in our own neighbourhoods? Now don’t tell me that there aren’t any, because there are oodles of fixable problems in each and every neighbourhood, which Christians could be helping to alleviate, if we so desire, and thus making our little part of the world better. But, with our sad attitude of indifference, we all sit and wait for someone else to fix the problems.
However, what did some wise someone once say. If we want peace, let it begin with me. Yes friends, anything we truly desire has to begin with us! We each have to develop the habits of movers and shakers in our own areas, if we ever expect to see positive change. And we don’t have to start with big changes, small ones will do. For as my Jamaican people tell us: one one cocoa full basket. And it certainly does. Each small change we make builds up in number, till we have a full basket of them.
So please my fellow saints, let’s get up and get a move on nuh, let’s start taking back our beautiful world from the evil doers, who are just bent on destroying it, and sending both it and us down to Hades with the evil one. And that’s not an acceptable option. But it’s only if we wake up and start smelling the roses, will it ever change. End of Sermon. (smile) Now let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock stock and barrel.
As one sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, 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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
And having made that proclamation, we are now bound to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with those we meet, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…whether it’s in peace or war…actions always speak louder than words…and Christians are action oriented people…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
01 Mar 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a crying shame, a new flock of believers, And now Lord what wait I for, apply our hearts unto wisdom, backsliders, Bible, Christ the son of the Living God, distractions, doing God's work, faith, Friday chant, god, Jesus Christ, leave a positive legacy, like a flash of lightning, living on overtime, LOVE, make an uproar over nothing, make me to know mine end, man walketh in a vain shew, my hope is in thee, our time on earth is short, prayer, problems are escalating, psalms, simmering unrest, spending time with god, teach us to number our days, the dustbin of history, the error of their ways, the evil of procrastination, the example we faithful believers set, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the measure of my days, want time to pass us by, wisdom
Psalm 39:7. And now Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.
Late to bed, late to rise! And I’ve proven it once again, this sunny Friday, the first day of March 2024, for I was abed late last night, and still abed late this morning! (smile) And I’m shaking my head here, because I had to run around in the cold, windy weather yesterday, doing chores that should have been done before in the good weather. But that’s the evil of procrastination, you are forced to go out when you don’t want to. And even though it’s a bright sunny Friday with temps on the plus side, I think I deserve a day at home, to just relax and do my own thing. (smile)
But here’s something else to consider; that even with 29 days, February has gone off the map in to the dustbin of history, like a flash of lightning. Two months of the year are already in the annals. And what is that trying to tell us eh? That time is not waiting for us, or for anything. It’s just going its merry way like the Lord planned. That means we have to get up and get ourselves together, unless we want time to pass us by, and we reach the end of our journey and have not done half of the things we either planned to do, or that God desired that we do.
Now that would just be a crying shame! And I can vouch for that, because I still have a lot of writing to do and music to make, as well as God’s work, which I have not yet embarked upon, and I’m already in my later years. Hn! I’ve already passed my three score and ten, so who knows how much is left. One of my friends, some thirteen years older, keeps chirping that he’s living on overtime. But who knows if I will be granted the same amount of overtime? (smile) That means I need to get up off of my fat, lazy fanny and get rolling soon, and very soon too, if I want to leave some kind of positive legacy, something to at least say that I passed this way.
However, in this busy life there are so many distractions and so many things calling out to be done, and as I heard one preacher say recently, to do what you need to do, that includes spending time with God, some things must be left undone. And that’s the gospel truth! We therefore have to prioritize our thoughts and actions, especially when the enemy takes vast pleasure in distracting us from the important things, like doing God’s work, or spending time with Him. That reminds me of Moses’ prayer in Psalm 90, when he pleads: ‘So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom (gain a heart of wisdom).’ (Ps. 90:12)
Yes my people, it would definitely help some of we knew the length of our lives, but that’s not God’s way. He desires us to seek wisdom and apply it as early as possible in our lives, and to continue seeking and applying it until the very day He calls us home. It’s interesting though that in Psalm 39, Bruh David also pleaded like Moses. ‘Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth (hand span); and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity (vapour). Selah. Surely every man walketh in a vain shew (as a shadow): surely they are disquieted in vain (make an uproar over nothing): he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them. And now Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.’ (Ps. 39:4-7)
And that last phrase ‘my hope is in thee,’ is the most important one of our Christian journey my fellow believers! If we don’t know or think of anything else, we must always remember that our hope is indeed in the great God Jehovah; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! That’s where all our trust and faith must lie, regardless of what happens to us ,where we go, or what we do! Christ, the Son of the Living God must always be first place in our lives, and knowing that, we can carry any and every problem we have to Him for a just resolution. That’s His promise, and he never reneges on any of His promises.
Now that’s another useful thing for us to know and believe. So what’s it all about to day eh? To tell the truth, I really don’t know; (smile) I’ve just been going where I believe I was led. But it all seems to revolve around the fact that our time on God’s good earth is relatively short, and consequently we cannot afford to waste it in pursuing inconsequential matters. Therefore, whatever we desire to do, or that God desires us to do, we need to get up RIGHT NOW and begin doing it! Let’s not waste another moment of our invaluable time on Mother Earth! And having said that, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant seeking divine help to initiate it.
Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.
And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And interestingly enough, the answer to our prayer is found right in our prayer; ‘the example that we your faithful believers set.’ Yes friends, until we begin setting a good example to those around us, divine help will not be forthcoming. Much LOVE!
…time is not meant to be wasted…but to be used productively…in God’s work…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
07 Mar 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man lay down his life for his friends, beloved of God, but have everlasting life, but of power love and a sound mind, child's play, contrary one to the other, fear hath torment, feel awed or intimidated, fight mano a mano, God has not given us a spirit of fear, God so loved the world, greater love hath no man than this, he gave his only begotten son, he that feareth is not made perfect in love, hurry, in God's eyes, let not your heart be troubled, LOVE, love is the antidote to fear, my peace I give unto you, neither let it be afraid, not as the world giveth, Peace i leave with you, perfect love casteth out fear, share His love with my neighbours, tcarnal nature, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, the antidote to fear, the dustbin of history, the flesh and the Spirit are natural enemies, the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, there is no fear in love, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, walk in the Spirit, watch and pray, worry, ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh
Galatians 5:16. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
And now that we’ve skillfully handled intimidating Monday, kicked it into the dustbin of history, (smile) it’s time to turn our attention to easy-going Tuesday, that’s opened up bright and sunshiny though somewhat chilly and windy. And isn’t it surprising that after we’ve been through Monday, all the other days of the week seem like child’s play.
That’s apparently because it’s the first day of work after a break, and the first of anything usually brings a li’l doubt, trepidation and fear. But since the Lord has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind, (2 Tim. 1:7) we don’t have to feel awed or intimidated by anything that comes against us, even for the very first time!
And if we remember these words of assurance from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, life won’t seem as fearful and intimidating. He says it very calmy and reassuringly: ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as he world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27)
Yes friends, the enemy is always trying to induce or introduce fear into our daily doings, but with Jesus as our solid foundation, the rock on which we’ve built our lives, we have a most potent antidote to the enemy’s wiles and evil schemes. And what’s that antidote you ask? Listen as John describes it in his first epistle. ‘There is no fear in LOVE; but perfect LOVE casteth out fear: because fear hath (involves) torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in LOVE.’ (1 John 4:18)
Oh my people, the great antidote to fear is LOVE; the LOVE of God, which caused Him to send His Son Jesus Christ to die for us on that old rugged cross so that we could be saved from our sins. That LOVE for us was so powerful that our Creator could not resist the call to save us. And Jesus states it so clearly and plainly in this scripture that we all know so well. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:16-17)
Now that’s the measure of God’s LOVE for us His disobedient and lawless children! The Lord must certainly have had a heart bursting, overflowing with compassion for us to do such a revolutionary and unexpected thing. And Jesus confirms the powerful effect that LOVE has, with these immortal words to the disciples. ‘Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’ (John 15:13) Then He went out and laid down His sinless life for those He considered His friends.
But please note how you get into that category of friendship with Christ. He said: ‘Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you to do.’ (John 15:14) So you see, to be a true friend of and to Jesus necessitates doing whatsoever He commands us to do. And that’s not always easy, convenient or even makes a lot of sense. But His command is His command, and He won’t command us to do something and then not give us the grace or the anointing to do it. So, even if the command seems farfetched, and out of this world, His divine help will enable us to do it.
Now that’s where our faith comes in: believing in Him enough to do whatever seems hard, or unreasonable, be willing to make the sacrifice that it entails to be a true disciple of His. And that’s where so many of us fall down. As the old saying goes, our spirit is willing, but our flesh is weak. Jesus Himself stated it to the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before His crucifixion, when they couldn’t stay awake and watch with Him. ‘What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ (Matt. 26:40-41)
And indeed, so often we sincerely desire to do stuff, but just can’t dredge up the energy, the fleshly energy to do it. We need to do like Jesus says though, ‘watch and pray that we enter not into temptation,’ because it’s at our weakest, most tired moments that the tempter comes a calling, and when we are most vulnerable to his advances. That’s why in his epistle to the church at Rome, Bruh Paul could write: ‘For that which I do I allow not (don’t understand): for what I would (want to do),that do I not; but what I hate, that I do.’ (Rom. 7:15)
Yes my brethren, we all suffer from the temptations of the flesh, our basic carnal nature, and oftentimes find ourselves doing the stuff we don’t want to do, while not doing the right stuff we desire to do. And that controversy between our flesh and our godly spirit will always be there while we’re alive on this earth, and thus we need to fight it mano a mano, each and every day.
And that’s why Bruh Paul advised us re the works of the flesh in his letter to the Galatians. ‘This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things ye would. But if ye be led of the spirit, ye are not under the law (carnal mind).’ (Gal. 5:16-18)
Ah my fellow believers, it’s a constant struggle to fight off the desires of the flesh, some of which Bruh Paul listed in Gal. 5:19-21, then goes on to list the fruit of the Spirit in verses 22-23. I’d strongly suggest we take some time today to refresh our minds on those two subjects, since they play a very big part in our lives, and manifest if we are truly living for Jesus.
Now, for those of us who are doing our best in that direction, let’s go home declaring (yesss!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, 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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
Now let’s go out and share that amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with those we meet, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like do! Much LOVE!
…the flesh and the Spirit are natural enemies…but with God’s help…our spirit can certainly win…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
15 Nov 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all things work together for good, called according to His purpose, cannot be touched by our infirmities, diligence, every tongue that rises against you shall be condemned, excellence, follow in Jesus' footsteps, free will, God's unmerited favour, have good success, hurry, I am the beloved of god, in god's eyes, lock stock and barrel, LOVE, make thy way prosperous, never to leave nor forsake us, new mercies and compassions, no weapon formed against you shall prosper, observe to do all that's written therein, our sinful nature, recociliation, shall not depart out of thy mouth, share His love with my neighbours, the blood of Jesus, the cross of Calvary, the dustbin of history, the gift of God is eternal life, the heritage of the servants of the Lord, the wages of sin is death, this book of the law, thou shalt meditate therein day and night, to them that love God, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, was in all points tempted like us, we have not a high priest, without sin, worry
Hebrews 4:15. For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched (sympathize) with the feeling of our infirmities (our weaknesses); but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Oh my people it’s Tuesday! Yes, we’ve successfully kicked Monday, our old nemesis into the dustbin of history, and are beginning on a new journey with our great God, which promises exciting things and wonderful adventures. Wow! What an interesting God we serve, for we never know what a new day will bring, except for His new mercies and compassions of that day. That’s all we are ever sure of. However, because He’s faithfully promised in Hebrews 13:5, to never leave nor forsake us, we are confident that though He takes us through the wildest and most dangerous scenarios of life, He will bring us safely through them.
Sometimes we’ll be anxious and scared to the point of trembling, but never will we doubt or give up on this most mighty and wonderful promise. ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.’ (Rom. 8:28) And all God’s people gave a grateful shout of: ‘Thank You Jesus for promising never to leave nor forsake us and to eventually work everything out for our good! We LOVE You and gloriously praise Your Holy Name! Amen!’
Ah mih faithful bredrin, it’s so awesome to know that when you awaken on a morning, alive and kicking, or even just barely alive (smile) that you have an amazing Deity looking out for you, regardless of what comes against you. It just fills you with an unimaginable joy and sense of purpose, knowing that you can go out and accomplish anything that’s in the Lord’s will. Listen to this promise of empowerment nuh, so graciously offered since the time of the prophet Isaiah. ‘No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of (from) me, saith the Lord.’ (Is. 54:17)
Oh my my, what a glorious promise! But friends, there is a caveat to that promise and most of God’s other promises; that we act in His will, in righteousness and be true servants of God. We can’t just behave willy nilly, irresponsible and evil, like so many supposed believers are doing nowadays and expect to receive the benefits of His promises. No! Our God is indeed a good God, but He’s not a dithering, faltering grandfather, who just does whatever we wish, regardless of our behaviour. Certainly not! We are in a partnership with Him, and He does expect a certain standard of behaviour from His believers, and a high standard at that. One of diligence and excellence, like Jesus showed during His earthly sojourn.
No, the Lord doesn’t expect us to do everything right like Jesus, because He did not make us perfect, but He does expect us to walk as closely as possible in Jesus’ footsteps, with LOVE, and compassion being first and foremost in our lives, regardless of our personal difficulties, for that’s what Jesus did! And please remember that though Jesus was God, He was also human, so He experienced and felt the exact same things we do, but He just never sinned or gave into the temptations of the enemy. As the author of Hebrews tells us: ‘For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched (sympathize) with the feeling of our infirmities (our weaknesses); but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.’ (Heb. 4:15)
There again, our wonderful God has made provision for our falling into diverse temptations because of our sinful nature. Through the blood of Jesus shed on the cross of Calvary that brought reconciliation between man and God, we are also entitled to come to Him for forgiveness through sincere repentance. Now, which other faith has such wonderful provisions for a bunch of ungrateful sinners eh? None! And yes, the Lord’s given us free will to choose whatever we want to do, but it doesn’t mean we can just sin and be disobedient as we like and get away with it. No siree, for there are consequences, ofttimes major, life-changing ones to every sin that we commit.
Please don’t forget what Bruh Paul said in his letter to the Romans about that soul-defeating, challenging, enemy hurled thing called sin. He clearly outlined. ‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ our Lord.’ (Rom. 6:23) Yes friends, that tells us what we deserve, as opposed to what we get through God’s unmerited favour! If we insist on being sinful and not embracing Christ as Lord and Saviour, then our eventual disposition will be unequivocal death, just like the sinful and disgusting enemy Satan.
However, if we sincerely embrace Christ, and do our best to live for him, though we may sin, but not live a life of knowing and continual sin, we will end up with Him in a miraculous place called heaven, where eternal life is guaranteed. Now, I can’t think or conceive of a better place to spend eternity. But if you can, please share it with me, like I’m sharing my best idea with you. (smile) Oh my people, God’s Word found in His Holy Library, the Bible, is so chocked full of promises that if we don’t read, study and meditate on it, we’ll never find success in this crazy and evil world.
And it’s not me saying that, but it’s what the Lord himself said to Joshua many moons ago, when He made him leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses. Please listen very closely to this oh so important scripture. ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (be constantly in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written there: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’ (Josh. 1:8)
Oh my fellow saints that’s possibly the most important scripture in the Bible! Why? Because when you constantly meditate on God’s word and keep it continually in your mouth, note it is to be kept continually in your speech, then you will know what the Word says, and you will be able to practice it and live a successful life! In summation, I sincerely offer that there’s nothing better than that in this earthly sojourn! (smile) But the only way you’ll ever find out if I’m telling the truth or not, is by doing what the Lord says, and what I’m passing on. (smile)
Anyway, for those of us who have accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour and are doing our best to live for him, let’s go home now declaring (steups!!!) our Tuesday mantra, letting the whole world know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one strong and sincere voice. ‘In God’s eyes, 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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
Now, let’s go out and do just that nuh; share our amazing LOVE and friendship with Christ, so that others can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…choosing to follow the enemy brings certain death… choosing to follow Christ means living forever…please use your free will wisely…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ
11 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Agag, Amalekites, annihilated, benefit, bounden duty, burnt offerings, but sinners to repentance, charles stanley, crapaud smoke we pipe, desired mercy, devoid of spiritual reality, divination, do god's work, doing the Lord a favour, fear the Lord, for thy good, he hath showed thee, hurry, I am not come, idolatry, in an excellent and diligent manner, in god's eyes, keep the commandments, loving kindness, my friend Jesus, not sacrifice, partial obedience, pledge, rebellion, rejected the word of God, religious ritual, Samuel, Saul, serve the Lord, share His friendship, share His love, stubbornness, the beloved of God, the detritus of time, the dustbin of history, the knowledge of god, to call the righteous, to do justly, to love Him, to love mercy, to obey is better than sacrifice, total allegiance to God, trust Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, utterly destroy, wake up and smell the coffee, walk humbly with thy God, walk in all his ways, welfare, what doth the Lord require, what is good, witchcraft, with all thy heart, with all thy soul, worry
Micah 6:8. He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to LOVE mercy (LOVING-kindness), and to walk humbly with thy God?
Well, well, well, we’ve gotten rid of Monday; overcome its fear and dread, and sent it to the dustbin of history, to cavort uselessly in the detritus of time! (smile) Now it’s time for us to eagerly embrace Tuesday’s purpose, which by the way, was, and is the same as Monday – to do God’s work in a diligent and excellent manner! Yes friends, the days, the months, the years might change, but our job, our earthly function is always to do the will of God, to do His bidding in a joyful, faithful and compassionate manner!
And all God’s people declared a loud and thankful shout of: ‘Praise the Lord! Bless His holy name, fear and reverence Him forever, for He is indeed worthy to be praised and exalted! Amen!’
And my fellow believers (yeah!) you ask, what is the will of God? Well hear it is, in God’s own words. Moses said it on His behalf, like this: ‘And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to LOVE him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes which I command thee this day for thy good (benefit, welfare).’ (Deut.10:12-13)
And yes it is important to keep the commandments of God and all those other things, but possibly the most important part of Moses speech is the last part – ‘for thy good.’ Yes friends, all we’re asked to do is not because the Lord needs it, but because WE need it! It’s all for OUR benefit, OUR welfare. So if we’re too foolish, or not wise enough to appreciate that fact, then crapaud smoke we pipe! That’s the mistake so many humans have made, and are still making; thinking that we’re doing the Lord a favour when we do His bidding or keep His commandments.
Steups! Look friends…Let’s wake up and smell the coffee yes! God doesn’t really need anything from us, cause He’s sitting quite comfortably in high heaven on His glorious throne running things, but we need EVERYTHING from Him, starting with His breath of life, His daily provision, compassion, mercy, grace, forgiveness, LOVE…etc. etc…! Without any of those things, we’re all goners!
Unfortunately though, we are behaving just like the Israelites did when the Lord admonished them through the prophet Hosea. ‘For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. But they like men (like Adam) have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.’ (Hos. 6:6-7)
And believe me friends, when you transgress the Lord’s covenant, you WILL pay the price eventually. He might forgive us and all that, but please remember that sin and disobedience ALWAYS bear a hefty price tag! Just look at Israel’s first King, Saul. The Lord commanded him to destroy the Amalekites completely. ‘Now go and smite (attack) Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.’ (1 Sam.15:3)
That means they were to be totally annihilated! But what did Saul do? He saved the king Agag, and the best of the Amalekites animals and worldly possessions. And when Samuel asked why he hadn’t followed the Lord’s instructions to the letter, Saul made excuses, as we always do, blaming the people for taking the plunder to sacrifice to the Lord. Thus Samuel admonished him with words that we all know, but still refuse to follow:
‘Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken (listen) than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft (divination), and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.’ (1 Sam.15:22-23) Yuh see friends, Saul lost his crown because he did not completely obey the Lord. And like Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) likes to say, partial obedience is still rebellion against God. (smile)
And the scholars tell us: ‘15:22-23. These verses reinforce the Old testament viewpoint that religious ritual devoid of spiritual reality and of a life of total allegiance to a sovereign Lord is worthless (cf. Ps. 40:6-8; Is. 1:10-20; Mic. 6:8).’ What more can I say eh? Except to quote the age old passage from Micah, which is also our Bit for today. ‘He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to LOVE mercy (LOVING-kindness), and to walk humbly with thy God?’
Oh my people, those are the basic requirements of our great and awesome, but EVER-LOVING God! Even Jesus referred to the words of Samuel, Hosea and Micah, twice to boot! The first is when the Pharisees complained about Him eating with publicans (tax-collectors) and sinners. ‘But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole (are well) need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: For I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’ (Matt. 9:12-13)
And again, when the disciples plucked some corn from the field to eat on the Sabbath and the Pharisees complained that that was not lawful, Jesus, after telling them how Bruh David and his men, when they were terribly hungry, ate bread which was supposed to be for priests only, and how the law shows that on the sabbath the priests in the temple profaned (made common) the sabbath, and yet are blameless. (Matt.12:1-5)
‘But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have (desire) mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.’ (Matt.12:6-8) Yeh friends, ours is not to just condemn, but rather to show justice and mercy!
So let’s go home now having writ all of that indelibly in our hearts minds, bodies and souls, declaring (yeah!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are. As one, in strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘In God’s eyes, 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!’
Mama Mia! What blessed people we are! Now let’s go out and share that wonderful friendship and amazing LOVE of Jesus with the less fortunate nuh, for it’s His heartfelt desire! Much LOVE!
…to be obedient to the Lord…is the believer’s unending pledge…and bounden duty…
SCRIP-BITS 