The Overwhelming Importance of Christians Understanding How to Run the Race of Faith! Part 1.

05 Jun 2026 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today’s Scrip-Bit   5 June 2026   Hebrews 12:1b.

Hebrews 12:1b.         let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset (ensnare) us, and let us run with patience (perseverance) the race that is set before us.

And then it was that blessed day of Friday, another hot and sunny one, and all the shouts of the Friday Mantra gloriously rose up to heaven: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and the weekend is here at last!’ Our society has become so obsessed with Friday that we don’t give much thanks for any other day. I guess it’s because Friday has become associated with the end of the work week, and our society does not have a great work ethic, so working is not something we like to do. 

But as the saying goes; if you want to eat, and have a roof over your head, you have to work. Bruh Paul even went so far as to tell the Thessalonians, that the busybodies and gossipmongers among them, who refused to work, should not be given food. (2 Thess. 3:10-11) Now, that seems a fair reckoning, but doing it is an entirely different story. (smile)

And today we’re going to talk about one of the most precious things we have, but also one of the hardest to keep on the right trail. That’s our Christian faith, which in this evil and godly world of today is being seriously challenged at every turn, but needs to be strong enough to endure and withstand the constant temptation and bombardment that’s thrown at it. For it’s our faith that keeps us rooted and grounded in the goodness, mercy and LOVE of our ever-faithful God.

And this passage in Hebrews 12, gives us an interesting explanation and path to follow. ‘Wherefore seeing (since) we also are encompassed about with (surrounded by) so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset (ensnare) us, and let us run with patience (perseverance) the race that is set before us.’ (Heb. 12 :1) Ah friends, that’s a tough requirement, but it needs to be done, if we are to be successful in our race of faith.

There are a lot of heroes of the faith, witnesses, who have gone before us and who are looking on at our progress. We also need to stand strong like they did, but there’s only one way to do that. As the author of Hebrews says; we need to lay aside every weight, or whatever impediment that keeps us weighed down, the scholars suggest stuff like clothing and body weight. But for the diligent runner or the faithful Christian, those things must be removed, so it can lighten our load.

We also need to put aside every sin which so easily ensnares us. And what sins ensnares us eh? The scholars seem to think that refers to the one sin that is uppermost in our lives; the one sin that defeats us above all others. And there are numerous sins that ensnare us. It’s like Bruh Paul wrote the Colossians: ‘Mortify therefore (put to death) your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection (passion), evil concupiscence (desire), and covetousness, which is idolatry:

For which things sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds:’ (Col. 3:5-9) Now that gives us some idea of the kinds of sins we ought to put aside as we run our faith race.

Then the author of Hebrews states that we should run our faith race with patience, that’s perseverance, or better yet endurance. We need to have the endurance of a long distance runner because our faith race is indeed a long one, and those short of breath will never win it. And we have another good example of how we should run that race from Bruh Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. He writes: Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run that ye may obtain.

And every man that striveth for the mastery (competes for the prize) is temperate in all things (has self-control). Now they do it to obtain a corruptible (perishable) crown, but we an incorruptible (imperishable). I therefore so run , not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under (discipline) my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway (be disqualified).’ (1 Cor. 9:24-27)

Yes mih bredrin, this race of faith that we’re running is one for our very life, therefore we need to be serious about it, have discipline and self-control, while working hard to keep our endurance going strong, for endurance and self-discipline are two important aspects of our race, that we badly need if we hope to win that imperishable crown promised to us by the Lord.

But sadly, endurance and self-discipline are two of the least recognized and practiced attributes in today’s society. Not many of us can stick with anything or project for a long time, or have the discipline to do the tough things needed to accomplish success. No wonder our society has become lackadaisical and undisciplined, wild and unruly. Unfortunately though, time and space have run out on us, so if God spares life tomorrow, we’ll continue looking at this race of faith that we are required to run.

Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid to help us run our race. Altogether: ‘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. You know our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving, and we desperately need your help to fix them. 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. So please give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.

And despite the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times, help us to be responsible, and get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that we can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out next week and further your glorious kingdom by the good 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 we Christians also need to wake up and smell the coffee, because our work and witness for Christ is definitely not good or strong enough, otherwise our world would not be in the terrible state it’s currently in! Much LOVE!

…everyone who runs a race…runs to win…but you can’t win if you’re not prepared…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   8 April 2022 Proverbs 3:19.

08 Apr 2022 Leave a comment

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

Proverbs 3:19.      The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth: by understanding hath he established the heavens. 

And the shouts of joy and relief rise up over the land: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ Heralding the end of the work week and the beginning of the weekend, our short break from the drudgery of work that so many of us detest, but which is oh so necessary for our survival. As Bruh Paul said to the Thessalonians: ‘if any would not work, neither should he eat.’ (2 Thess. 3:10) (smile) And though the day has opened somewhat cloudy, the sun is fighting through that darkness, just like we believers in Christ must fight through the darkness and evil of this ungodly world, by meditating on God’s Holy Word and following the guidance of His Holy Spirit that dwells within us. 

But I like how Cousin Sol puts it in Proverbs 2. ‘When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward (perverse) things; Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness: Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the forwardness (perversity) of the wicked. Whose ways are crooked and they froward (are devious) in their paths.’ (Prov. 2:10-15) 

Yes friends, the purveyors of evil are fighting a serious battle against the light of Jesus, and we, purveyors of that light, desperately need to return their fire through the amazing goodness and mercy, the salt and light, the wisdom and knowledge that are supposed to emanate from us, faithful believers in Christ Jesus, keeper of His mighty name and everlasting flame in all the earth! 

Oh my people, the wicked and perverse are very devious and scheming and it’s only through the wisdom and knowledge acquired by close association with Jesus that can give us the victory over them. That’s why Cousin Sol was so insistent on the matter of acquiring wisdom and understanding. 

In a later chapter he admonishes: ‘Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline (turn away) from the words of thy mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: LOVE her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to (place on) thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver thee.’ (Prov. 4:5-9) 

Ah my fellow saints, words of indisputable truth! For it’s only wisdom in, and understanding of Christ’s dictates that will allow us to rise to great heights and defeat the enemy, the purveyor of evil and darkness. And I guess that many of us are wondering what are these marvellous and miraculous things called wisdom and understanding? (smile) Well, wisdom, as used in Proverbs basically means ‘the skill to live life successfully.’ While understanding denotes ‘the ability to distinguish between true and false, good and bad, what matters most and what does not matter at all.’ 

And if you’re still wondering why those things are so important, then listen to these enlightening verses from Proverbs 3: ‘The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth: by understanding hath he established the heavens. By his knowledge the depths (deeps) are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.’ (Prov. 3:19-20) 

Yes mih bredrin, the Lord used wisdom and understanding to create the universe and all therein! And if, with all His omnipotence, omniscience, and omni-presence, God still needed wisdom and understanding to create the world, then why shouldn’t we frail and fragile minions that we are, not need them also to live a successful life? No reason whatsoever! 

And with our world in such a sad and sorry state, it’s high time that we believers in Christ Jesus get up and seriously and sincerely seek wisdom and understanding so that we can enlighten the world and make it a better place for our children and our children’s children. And that ought not to sound strange and out of place because that’s one of the reasons we were placed on the earth at this particular time. Serving and worshipping the Father and bettering the world are our two basic duties! 

And they all begin with prayer, the marvellous and exciting communication method between heaven and earth. Therefore, as we so badly need to do, let’s communicate with heaven nuh, through our Friday Chant. As one strong but humble and prayerful voice. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. 

Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. 

And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

Now, let’s set about keeping those promises and showing the Lord that our motives are right when He checks our hearts. For that’s ever so necessary to get positive answers from heaven! Much LOVE!

…to be wise in this unwise world…is the greatest talent of all… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8       

Today’s Scrip-Bit 11 December 2020 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18.

11 Dec 2020 Leave a comment

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

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18.     ​Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

And then it was Friday; the day we all so look forward to because it means the end of our work week and the beginning of our partying time. (smile) But yuh know what? Plenty of us haven’t worked for a long time, neither partied for a long while, and plenty of us won’t be working or partying for an even longer while, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which seems to spread very rapidly when we gather together in large groups without masks and taking the other necessary precautions. 

Unfortunately though, too many of us are ignoring the limitations and still gathering in large groups and partying regardless, and that’s one of the reasons why the Covid-19 count is still reaching record highs every day! Steups! And that’s how the supposedly smartest creature on the planet is behaving. Hn! But that’s just my take on the subject though, let’s see what the ordinary working man has to say about it all. 

And he ambles up in a contrary mood. ‘Why yuh telling me about TGIF, Thank God is Friday eh? What is there to thank God for this Friday a couple weeks before Christmas? Ah don’t have no work, and no decent money coming in. The li’l pittance the government promise could barely pay mih rent! They not even telling me about when I could go back to work – if ah even going to have a work to go back to when all this nonsense done! 

All they telling me is to stay home and to social distance and to wear masks if I go out. But where ah getting the money from to buy the blooming mask and them eh? All ah hearing is about a vaccine coming soon…but how soon is soon eh? And then yuh hearing so much bad things about the vaccine an’ them, how deh using them to change people DNA and inject them with the mark of the beast and what not…so what’s a poor body to do eh, how to know truth from fiction eh? Steups! 

This world in such a mess eh? And when yuh add in the antics of the fool and his bunch of foolish cronies down in the U.S…. well is only bad and negative things could come out of it all yes! Ah sorry for mih children and them yes, because they surely going to have a very hard world to navigate through oui!’ 

And isn’t that the indisputable truth my brethren! This world is going to be much harder to navigate when all the nonsense we currently going through ends. And yes, it will end at some stage of the game, but how and when are the unknown, but the two most important variables right now. So like the ordinary workingman asks, what’s a body to do eh? The first thing is to obey the rules and regulations; do your part in not spreading the virus. And as yuh doing that, simultaneously turn to Almighty God and pray; pray like you’ve never done before. 

Like Bruh Paul said to the Thessalonians: ‘Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.’ (1 Thess. 5:17-18) And if we’d take a moment and ponder our recent past, and be truthful about it, we’d realize that neither of those two things; praying and giving thanks, have been our strongpoints in the last decade or so. No wonder our world is in such a mess. If the Lord desires prayer and thanksgiving, and we’re refusing, how can our world function properly and efficiently eh? No way Jose! 

So let’s see if we can’t begin to straighten out those problems right now nuh…Yes my people, right now we going to start to pray and give thanks on a regular basis – that’s if we want our world to survive in a reasonable state. So for those of us who desire such an outcome, let’s go to God right now, in humble adoration and unburden our heavy and weary hearts to Him, through our Friday Chant. 

As one strong voice now, in all sincerity: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. Yuh know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and the racial strife causing. We not accustomed to that kind of life Lord, and it really telling on us. And we know we can’t handle it on our own, that we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. 

So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the sure and wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, so that we can avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to also bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. 

It’s also a good opportunity to introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion because of the way we, your faithful believers, handle the situation. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

Now we can’t just say that prayer, hopefully with sincere hearts, and expect all our troubles to vanish into thin air. No! We need to keep on praying and giving thanks and being obedient to the government’s rules and regulations, as well as the Lord’s, except where they conflict, and then the Lord’s governance takes control. It’s the only way friends. 

But many many more of us have to seriously buy into that solution for it to come to fruition. The relatively small number now seriously involved is definitely not enough to turn things around. So I guess it behooves us to talk to others so that they can buy in. And that’s all Jesus is asking of us: to tell people about Him and His word. And after all that He’s sacrificed on our behalf, is that so much to ask? Not really. Much LOVE!

…for our world to run properly…Jesus must be NUMBER ONE… 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 June 2020 Proverbs 4:7.

26 Jun 2020 Leave a comment

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

Proverbs 4:7.     ​Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
 

Friday, Friday Friday! Welcome! We welcome you Friday with open arms and thankful hearts, as you are the harbinger of the end of the work week! Only wish we would greet Monday so enthusiastically, instead of the constant dislike and resentment we display for it. But them’s the breaks, and however we make up our bed, that’s how we have to lie down on it. (smile) That’s just pure ole time wisdom, which, like our great God, never changes. 

So what’s new today eh? Nothing really. Our world is still in a crazy uproar with sickness and racial protests, and the sickness lockdown is being increasingly opened, and people are not being responsible enough, so we should possibly expect another rise in the Covid-19 situation. Ah Lord eh… Mankind is really something else yes! The only creation of God, that has no innate respect for itself, and kills itself willy-nilly, ofttimes just for the fun of it. But enough of my philosophizing, the workingman’s opinion will be much more interesting than that. (smile) 

And as always, he opens with the declaration: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! Mama Yo! The weekend is upon we! No more slave labour for two whole, big days! Glory be! But unfortunately we have to mellow down that enthusiasm because of all the crazy stuff that’s currently happening in our world. The pandemic sickness and the pandemic unrest is just too much to bear for this long oui, and if something good, something positive don’t happen soon, the whole thing just going to blow up in we face yes! The whole thing is just so confusing…and yuh can’t find no truth, or what seems like truth anyway, no consistency in either situation. 

Steups! Everybody spouting some different story which only leading to more panic and dissatisfaction! The leaders and them either not telling we the truth about either situation, or just spinning it for their advantage. But I guess that’s what leaders do to protect their turf. This is one time though, I think that if leaders doh come out with a unified message, plenty ah dem soon won’t have no turf to protect. But what I know eh – a poor, lowly, workingman, still slaving for a living, still trying to make two ends meet in his middle age eh? All I can say is thank God for Fridays and weekends yes, when I can rest mih spirit and mih soul!’ 

Oh friends, the ordinary workingman might not be the brightest bulb in the room, but he certainly does have common sense, something that’s seems to be exceedingly rare these days, if not totally extinct! But these monumental and awesome and truthful words of Cousin Sol, found in the Good Book are right now staring me in the face. ‘Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.’ (Prov. 4:7) 

Now why should we do that eh? Cousin Sol gives us these reasons. ‘Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to (place on) thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.’ (Prov. 7:8-9) Oh friends, who doesn’t want promotion and honour and grace and a crown of glory eh? All of us do! But the only way to get them and have them last is by seeking and finding wisdom! 

And furthermore, Cousin Sol tells us: ‘Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding: for the merchandise (gain) of it is better than the merchandise (profit) of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her (holds her fast).’ (Prov. 3:13-8) 

And now, blessedly, many of us are dying to find wisdom because of all the good things it brings, and are clamouring about where to find it? (smile) Don’t worry friends, listen to James, Jesus’ brother. ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (without reproach); and it shall be given him.’ (James 1:5) Yes friends true wisdom comes from Almighty God and nowhere else! But as James also says, we must ask in faith, not wavering, not doubtful and wishy-washy, for God doesn’t give it to that kind of people. ‘For a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.’ (James 1:6-8) 

And just to show how important wisdom and understanding are, let us go back to Cousin Sol, as he declares (steups!) this awesome truth: ‘The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. By his knowledge the depths (deeps) are broken up, and the clouds drop down dew.’ (Prov. 3:19-20) So you see friends that wisdom and understanding are ever so important that God Himself used them to create the world, and still uses them to keep it together! 

That brings us to our Friday Chant, our prayer for mercy and grace, wisdom and understanding.  As one loud and sincere voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. It’s been pretty rough…some of it from work, as many of us are now back to work in varied ways, but most of our anxiety still comes from all the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus still causing. We not accustomed to that Lord, and it really telling on us. And now, on top of all that, we have racial riots and protests to put up with. Oh Lord, yuh know we can’t handle it on our own and desperately need Your help. 

Yes, heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the sure and wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, so that we can avoid any more serious setbacks. 

And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to also bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. It’s also a good opportunity to introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion because of the way we, your faithful believers, handle the situation. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

Yes friends, we now need to show that we are indeed true believers! That’s the long and short of the story! Much LOVE!

…sincerely seek God…and you’ll find…wisdom and understanding…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 April 2016 Job 19:25‏‏

29 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

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

Job 19:25.   For I know that my Redeemer (lit. Kinsman) liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter (last) day upon the earth.

Ah friends, yesterday was another busy and frustrating day, which eventually led to a rather late night, or should I say early morning to bed. I had to laugh when I heard the birds already singing their morning praises to our wonderful God as I got into bed. 

Consequently, the tired old body refused to get up this morning until it was good and ready. Sometimes we just have to be wise and simply adhere to the demands of our body, because it knows best, what is good for it. 

And as I got up, the raucous, joyful shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here!’ reminded me that it was the day that so many of us look forward to, because it heralds the end of our work week and brings on the much needed weekend. 

But don’t forget my brethren, that how we use our weekend is very important, since it sets the tone for the way our next week of work will unfurl. If we use it wisely, then our week will go much more smoothly than if we use it in total dissipation and licentiousness. Hn! 

And by using it wisely, I mean along the lines of our Friday Chant, which we shall now declare. As one chanter: ‘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 friends, that is definitely the wisest way to use our weekend, especially in these trying and difficult times, times of great stress and confusion. We don’t need Lucifer and his evil cohorts to drag us further down into the mire of sin than we already are. 

So when they approach us with sinful actions that seem so innocent and pleasant, but are in fact devious and dangerous, just tell them to go back to hell where they belong! (smile) 

Because, as Job so boldly proclaims in our Bit: ‘For I know that my Redeemer (lit. Kinsman) liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter (last) day upon the earth.’ 

Ah mih breddren, that is such a powerful statement of faith, especially under the disastrous circumstances that Job declared it. 

And today we know for a fact that our Redeemer Jesus Christ lives, since He died on the cross and rose again to defeat sin, death and the grave, so that we could all live victoriously ever after with Him in the mansions of heaven! 

And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful: ‘All praise, power and glory to the Lamb that was slain for us on the cross at Calvary! May he live and reign forever!’ 

And believe me friends, He WILL indeed live and reign forever! 

And with that sure assurance (smile), let’s continue looking at some scriptures from the Old Testament that testified to the truth of our having a redeemer, beginning with these welcome and encouraging words from Isaiah as he prophesies about the final restoration of Israel. 

‘For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.’ (Is.41:13-14) 

Yes friends, how could they ever beat the strong and ever faithful promises of our magnificent, majestic and omnipotent God eh? NEVER! 

And Isaiah seems to have been well attuned to his Redeemer as he mentions it several times in his writings. Listen to him once more, re the folly of idolatry. ‘Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. 

And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it (can proclaim it), and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them show unto them.’ (Is.44:6-7) 

Ah mih people, there’s no one who can do and say the things our God can, because He is indeed the first and last, and the ONLY true God that exists! 

Now hear what Cousin Sol has to say about the Redeemer. ‘Remove not the old landmark (boundary); and enter not into the fields of the fatherless: For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with (against) thee.’ (Prov.23:11) 

And that’s for certain sure my fellow believers! We all know how our God champions the widows and orphans and strangers, so we had better make sure we don’t run afoul of them, because the mighty God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will fight tooth and nail on their behalf. 

And we’ll end with some more Isaiah, as he declares that deliverance will be from the Lord. ‘And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put into thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.’ (Is.59:20-21) 

Oh friends, there’s no better way to end than with that reminder about the Lord’s Spirit which indwells us and the necessity for us to keep the Word of the Lord constantly in our hearts, minds, souls, bodies and proceeding from our mouths, and those of our descendants. 

So today, let’s ponder both our individual and family situation on that matter nuh, then ask the Lord to bring us and our family up to scratch on it. For that is indeed wisdom at its fullest! Much LOVE!

…without Jesus…our wonderful Redeemer…we’d all be heading for hell and the lake of fire with Lucifer…