the enemy’s evil schemes

The Overwhelming Importance of Christians Speaking the Truth to Each Other, and Especially to God!

14 Sep 2026 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a certain man named Ananias, a communal system, about the space of three hours, agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord, allow Satan to twist our thinking, allow your incredible aura of love, an atmosphere of disunity and division, Ananias hearing these words fell down, Ananias' sin, be careful in all our dealings, begin a new week of work, better to be safe than sorry, breathed his last, brought the proceeds of the things they sold, buffeted and bombarded, buried her by her husband, carry thee out, christianity, conceived this thing in thine heart, deception is endemic in our world, deception is now the norm rather than the exception, deception leads from lie to another, deception will keep you entangled in bondage, distribution of possessions, distribution was made according to need, divine aid, faith, fell she down straightway at his feet, fill us with steadfast faith, filling the hearts of many believers, furthering your glorious kingdom, gave up the ghost, go out to meet the enemy in battle, great fear came on all them that heard these things, great fear came upon all the church, great grace was upon them all, growing by leaps and bounds, had all things in common, his wife also being privy to it, holy spirit, humble servants, hypocrisy about his actions, impossible to unravel or escape the consequences of continuous deception, Jesus Christ, jobs, jobs that serve a useful purpose, keeping lives and families together, kept back part of the price, laid them down at the apostles' feet, LOVE, make worthwhile inroads into the enemy's ranks, Marmion, mercy, none of them lacked anything, not knowing what was done, of one heart and of one soul, on a voluntary basis, possessors of land, rejuvenation of spirit, sally forth with confidence, salvation, Sapphira, Sir Walter Scott, sold a possession, sure conquerors, surrender our all to you, the beginning of dishonesty in the church, the BIBLE, the early days of the church, the enemy's evil schemes, the feet of them which buried your husband, the possible consequences of lying especially to God, the renewed vitality and enthusiasm, the throne of grace, the truth shall set you free, thou hast not lied unto men but unto God, to lead and guide all your servants, to lie to the Holy Ghost, treacherous times, truth, upon as many as heard it, upon as many as heard these things, we know we're invincible, we're not afraid, wearing your powerful protective spiritual armour, weary souls, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive, why hath Satan filled thine heart, wisdom, witness of the resurrection of Christ, yielded up the ghost

Today’s Scrip-Bit 14 September 2026 Acts 5:11.

Acts 5:11. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard it.

Now this Monday begins a full five-day work and school week; no holidays to ease the pain. (smile) And though it’s a somewhat cool and cloudy day, we’ll be thankful for it anyway. Today, we’ll look at a very interesting story back in the early days of the church re distribution of possessions. The Holy Spirit was working constantly and filling the hearts of many believers, so that the church was growing by leaps and bounds. And the writer of Acts describes the situation thus: ‘And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought (any) of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things in common.’ (Acts 4:32)

Well that would be a very good position for the church to be in today, but unfortunately that wouldn’t work in today’s atmosphere of disunity and division. The writer of Acts continues: ‘And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices (proceeds) of the things that were sold. And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.’ (Acts 4:33-35)

Yes friends, the church was small enough at the time for them to have a kind of communal establishment, though totally on a voluntary basis, where everything was put into one pot and then shared as needed. And it seemed to be running quite smoothly until a couple of incidents happened. The Bible tells us: ‘But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back a part of the price (proceeds), his wife also being privy to (aware of) it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.’ (Acts 5: 1-2)

Ah mih people, there we have the beginning of dishonesty and dissension in the church. ‘But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power (control)? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost (breathed his last): and great fear came on all them that heard these things. And the young men arose, wound (wrapped) him up, and carried him out, and buried him.’ (Acts 5:3-6)

Yuh see mih bredrin, what can happen when you don’t tell the truth, especially to God. And the sad part is that Ananias was in no way contracted to give them all the money, or any money at all, because the whole thing was voluntary; you gave what you wanted to give. And as the scholars say: ‘Ananias’s sin was not that of keeping back part of what he sold, but his hypocrisy about it.’

But the story doesn’t end there. The Bible continues: ‘And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt (test) the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which had buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straightway (instantly) at his feet, and yielded up the ghost (breathed her last): and the young men came in, and found her dead, and carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.’ (Acts 5:7-10)

Oh friends, yuh see what can happen when we lie and deceive. It’s like the saying from the 1808 epic poem Marmion by Scottish author and poet Sir Walter Scott (Canto 6, Stanza 17). “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!” It just leads from one lie or deception to another and thus complicates the situation till it’s nigh impossible to unravel or escape the consequences like Ananias and Sapphira. And look at what happened to the church after that. The Bible says: ‘And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard it.’ (Acts 5:11)

Now that was indeed a sad situation which should never have happened, but that’s what happens when we allow Satan to twist our thinking. And sadly, that kind of situation is endemic, like a disease in today’s world, for almost everything is fraught with lies, fraud and deception. Our world is so corrupted and filled with greed, that those are now the norms rather than the exceptions. That means we must be exceptionally careful in all our dealings, even with our fellow believers. And though that’s not a nice thing to contemplate, it’s the truth, so as they say, better to be safe than sorry.

And to help with all our problems, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid in these deceitful and treacherous times. Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise and thank You this Monday morning for our jobs; jobs we sometimes don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose; keeping lives and families together.

We also thank You Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm You’ve wrought in our weary souls over the weekend. It’s that rejuvenation of spirit which now allows us to sally forth with confidence into the evil and ungodly world, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s evil schemes. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing Your powerful, protective spiritual armour!

We surrender our all to You, and humbly ask that You allow Your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit to lead and guide all Your servants, as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, thereby furthering Your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! Amen!

And having received that divine aid, let’s go out and do as we promised; make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks! Much LOVE!

…deception will keep you entangled in bondage…but the truth shall set you free…

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

The Overwhelming Importance of a Good Work Ethic and Preparedness for Unpredictable Circumstances!

27 Jul 2026 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a desire for easy living, a desire to be comfortable, a little folding of the hands to sleep, a little sleep, a little slumber, a prowler, a secret destination, a secret purpose, allow your incredible aura of love, amenitites that make life easy, as a thief in the night, as one that travelleth, be as busy as the days, be prepared for whenever Jesus returns, be ye also ready, begin a new week of work, buffeted and bombarded, busy like bees, consider her ways and be wise, diligence, dire poverty, divine aid, faith, fill us with steadfast faith, filled with doom and gloom, for in such an hour as ye think not, foresight, furthering your glorious kingdom, gathereth her food in the harvest, get left behind, go out to meet the enemy in battle, go to the ant thou sluggard, having no guide overseer ruler, he becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand, holy spirit, how long wilt thou sleep O sluggard, into the evil and ungodly world, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs that serve a useful purpose, known when the thief would come, laggards, laziness leads to dire poverty, lead and guide all your servants, leaves a lot to be desired, life lessons, living in our efforts of yesteryear, living on past glory, LOVE, make worthwhile inroads into the enemy's ranks, mercy, not allowed his house to be broken into, perpetual laziness, poverty comes quickly and unexpectedly, prepare for unpredictable circumstances, prepare for unpredictable situations, prosperity comes from diligent work, prosperity requires contiual diligence, provideth her meat in the summer, raise our work ethic, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality and enthusiasm, sally forth with confidence, salvation, self-motivation, serve a useful purpose, so shall thy poverty come, stop being lackadaisical, suffer the resulting consequences, sure conquerors, the ant is a self-starter, the enemy's evil schemes, the error of their ways, the goodman of the house, the hand of the diligent maketh rich, the last Monday in July, the sense of entitlement, the Son of man cometh, the throne of grace, this generation's work ethic, thy want as an armed man, treading down a road to certain destruction, truth, unpredictable times, unstable and uncertain times, we surrender our all to you, we're not afraid, wearing your powerful protective spiritual armour, what a surprise, when wilt thou arise, wisdom, work ethic, would have watched, wrought in our weary souls

Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 July 2026 Proverbs 6:6.

Proverbs 6:6. Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

And here we are on a hot, somewhat cloudy day; the last Monday in July…what a surprise! It should not be, because the days are rapidly moving ahead as though they have some secret purpose; some secret destination to reach in a certain amount of time and they are just busy like bees going about their jobs, regardless of if it’s causing some of us problems. (smile)

The truth though, is that we should be just as busy as the days are, doing what God has called us to do. We cannot afford to be laggards, or else we’ll simply get left behind and thus suffer the resulting consequences. And that advice is even more apropos for today’s world than ever before, since every day more problems are arising and what was once a reasonably sure and secure life, now seems unstable and uncertain at the best of times.

And how are we supposed to behave, you ask? Generally speaking, as Jesus desires, but I guess more specifically and to the point, as Cousin Sol advises in Proverbs. ‘Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide (leader), overseer or ruler, Provideth her meat (grains, bread) in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.’ (Prov. 6:6-8) Now that’s a wonderful bit of advice for all of us!

Yes friends, Cousin Sol is using the lowly ant to teach us life lessons re that most important subject of work ethic; ‘featuring themes of diligence, foresight and self-motivation.’ And that’s rather interesting, since the ant has neither, leader, ruler nor overseer to guide him, but nonetheless knows instinctively to collect food in the summer harvest months so that he will be able to survive in the hard, cold winter months. In other words, as the scholars say: ‘The ant is a self-starter, and is wise enough to prepare for unpredictable circumstances.’

And all of us know that our crazy times can, and will produce unpredictable circumstances, that’s why it’s ever so necessary to do our best and be prepared for them when they come. But Cousin Sol doesn’t only point out the ant’s wise work ethic; he also preaches to the sluggard, lazy person directly, showing them the error of their ways.

He asks? ‘How long wilt thou sleep (lie down, be lazy), O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth (a prowler), and thy want (need) as an armed man.’ (Prov. 6:9-11) Yes my bredrin, perpetual laziness is filled with only doom and gloom. As Cousin Sol points out; it leads to dire poverty, and that dire poverty will come as quickly, unexpectedly and decisively as a robber or thief hits in the dark of night.

Remember how Jesus warned about His return. ‘But know this, that if the goodman (master) of the house had known in what watch (hour) the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered (allowed) his house to be broken up (into). Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.’ (Matt. 24:43-44)

Oh my people, just as we should stop being lackadaisical and be prepared for whenever Jesus returns, likewise we must stop being lazy in our work habits and prepare for the unpredictable circumstances that will arise, but which we will be unable to handle if we continue to be lazy. And sadly, in our very progressive world, we possess too many amenities that make life much easier than before, and when we add the sense of entitlement that currently permeates our society, they have bred a desire for comfortable, easy living.

Thus, the work ethic of this generation leaves a lot to be desired. And if they don’t wake up soon and realize that they are treading down a road to certain destruction, then that’s where they will eventually end up. And it’s very unfortunate, that we seem to gather more knowledge every day, but we also seem to lose just as much too, in particular this most important aspect; that prosperity arises out of sincere and serious work, but prosperity does not stick around long without continuous sincere and serious work.

And we see that happening all down through the ages; countries getting prosperous by encouraging a good work ethic, but when the prosperity arrives, the work ethic eventually dies and living on our efforts of yesteryear begin, and so does the decline and destruction of the society. However, as true believers in Jesus Christ, we have options, and one of those is to go to the throne of grace through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn seeking divine aid in these most unpredictable times.

Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise and thank You this Monday morning for our jobs; jobs we sometimes don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose; keeping lives and families together. We also thank You Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm You’ve wrought in our weary souls over the weekend. It’s that rejuvenation of spirit which now allows us to sally forth with confidence into the evil and ungodly world, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s evil schemes.

But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing Your powerful, protective spiritual armour! We surrender our all to You, and humbly ask that You allow Your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit to lead and guide all Your servants, as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, thereby furthering Your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! Amen!’

And having said all of that, let’s now go out and raise our work ethic as required! Much LOVE!

…He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack (negligent) hand…but the hand of the diligent maketh rich… (Prov. 10:4)

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

The Overwhelming Importance of Christians Uniting and Working Together on Christ’s Behalf!

01 Jun 2026 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a beautiful summer Monday, a little folding of the hands to sleep, a little slumber, a prowler, a society is only as strong and productive as its people, a spirit of diligence, a wonderful work ethic, allow your incredible aura of love, another mistake, as good Christian folk, as one that travelleth, asking for forgivenss, be wise, begin a new week of work, beginning to decay, bring about positive change, christianity, Christians, Christians need to unite, colonies of ants are always busy, consider her ways and be wise, constantly buffeted, crazy idea, deeper and deeper, dire want, divine aid, do good work for Jesus, do nothing productive, do our duty, encouragement, enthusiasm, eventual poverty, expect forgiveness, faith, fill us with steadfast faith, furthering your glorious kingdom, gathereth her food in the harvest, get serious and come together, getting on in age, glorify Jesus' awesome name, go out to meet the enemy in battle, go to the ant thou sluggard, God has not given us a spirit of laziness, habitual laziness, having no guide leader overseer, holy spirit, hope and pray, how long wilt thou sleep O sluggard, humble servants, industriousness, into the evil and ungodly world, invincible conquerors, Jesus Christ, jobs, keeping lives and families together, leads to destruction, learn two important lessons from the ant, LOVE, make another apology, make living too easy, make worthwhile inroads into the enemy's ranks, mankind, many who choose to sit on our fannies, May only had thrity days, mercy, numerous separate entities, ONE body in Christ, one of the lowliest of God's creations, only human, our Father who art in heaven, over the weekend, perseveraance, poverty will come as suddenly and decisively as a robber, prepare for predictable circumstances, provideth her meat in the summer, quicksand, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality and enthusiasm, sally forth with confidence, salvation, self-starter, serve a useful purpose, sluggard, so shall thy poverty come, somebody looking over their shoulder, standing over it to make it work, suffeing from a lack of positive production, surrender our all to God, the ant has no taskmaster, the apple of God's creation, the BIBLE, the enemy's evil schemes, the first day of June, the habitually lazy person, the last of my mistakes, the mind sometimes gets fuzzy, the poor are getting poorer, the result of laziness is dire poverty, the rich are getting richer, the society begins going downhill, the throne of grace, the wisdom and knowledge imbued in man by God, this wealthy comfortable society, thy want as an armed man, to, to lead and guide all your servants, too many amentities, truth, turbulent and uncertain times, unfortunate circumstances, we're not afraid, wealth distributed more equitably, wealth is consolidated in too few hands, wearing God's powerful protective spiritual armour, when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep, wisdom, wise enough to, wise words that seem appropriate, work ethic, wrought in our weary souls, yet a little sleep

Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 June 2026 Proverbs 6:9.

Proverbs 6:9. How long wilt thou sleep (lie down), O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

Oh friends, the first day of June 2026 has turned out to be a beautiful summer Monday, which ought to give us encouragement and enthusiasm to get out there and do good work for Jesus! (smile) But, unfortunately, I need to make another apology for another mistake, don’t know how many of you noticed it, but this one was in Saturday’s Bit, where I claimed that that was the last day of the month … and I did it twice to boot, at the beginning and at the end. I don’t know where I got the crazy idea that May only had thirty days. My mind must be going on me.

And it seems like I had forgotten the old rhyme that they taught us back in the old days: ‘Thirty days have April, June and September; the rest have thirty-one, except February which has twenty-eight, but in leap years twenty-nine.’ But somehow or the other I got it in my mind that May only had thirty days. So again, I’m asking for your forgiveness, and as good Christian folk, expect you to give it to me most willingly, (smile) for the ole fella is only human and is also getting on in age, and you know the mind sometimes gets fuzzy when that happens. So, let’s hope and pray that will be the last of my mistakes for a while. (smile)

And on this marvellous Monday in June, let’s look at some wise words of Cousin Sol, that seem rather appropriate for these turbulent and uncertain times, and can only benefit us if we follow them. Now, Cousin Sol’s first admonishment in this passage is: ‘Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide (leader), overseer or ruler, Provideth her meat (grain or bread) in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.’ (Prov. 6:6-8)

Oh my people, what wise and wonderful words and ever so applicable to many of us in this wealthy, comfortable society, who choose to just sit on our fannies and don’t do anything productive. It’s as the scholars explain: ‘The sluggard is the habitually lazy person. He is admonished to learn two important lessons from the ant: (1) the ant has no guide, overseer, or ruler (vs. 7), meaning that the ant does not have to have a taskmaster standing over it to make it work; it is a self-starter. (2) The ant is wise enough to prepare for predictable circumstances (vs.8).’

Yes mih brethren, we’ve all seen how colonies of ants are always busy, especially in the summer months, when they go about collecting food and storing it away for the winter months when food is hard to come by. And they don’t need to be told to do that, or have somebody looking over their shoulder prodding them to do it. So, if ants, one of the lowliest of God’s creations, are so wise and have such a wonderful work ethic, why can’t mankind, the apple of God’s creation, with all the wisdom and knowledge imbued in Him by His Creator, react the same way to life eh?

Possibly because our society has gotten too wealthy and we have too many amenities that make living too easy. But wait, Cousin Sol isn’t done with the sluggard, for he continues: ‘How long wilt thou sleep (lie down), O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth (a prowler), and thy want (need) as an armed man.’ (Prov. 6:9-11)

And what’s that all about you ask? Listen to the scholars’ explanation: ‘Two questions about sleep are posed to the sluggard (vs.9). His answer is given in verse 10: “Just a little bit more sleep!” The result of such laziness is dire poverty, which will come as suddenly and decisively as a robber (v.11).’ And isn’t that the awful truth! Habitual laziness only leads to dire want and eventual poverty. No wonder there are so many needy people in our society. Now let’s note that all needy people are not lazy, but some have indeed endured genuine unfortunate circumstances.

However, there are indeed too many lazy people in our society, from which the work ethic is quickly disappearing, and once that happens, it’s only a matter of time before the society itself begins going downhill. That’s because a society is only as strong and productive as its people. And when we look around our world, despite our total wealth, which unfortunately is consolidated in too few hands, many societies are suffering from a lack of positive production and are thus beginning to decay.

Who knows if the wealth was distributed more equitably, if the situation would change, but for sure right now, the rich are getting insanely richer while the poor are getting inhumanely poorer, and that’s not a good situation for our world. So what can be done about it? We Christians, supposed believers in, and followers of Christ, are the only ones who can bring about positive change. But before we can do that, we desperately need to unite as the ONE BODY in Christ that we were created to be, not the numerous separate entities that we’ve become. And if we don’t unite soon, our world will just keep getting deeper and deeper in the quicksand that leads to total destruction.

And to help us do all we need to do to turn the situation around, let’s confidently, but humbly, approach the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn seeking divine aid. Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise and thank You this Monday morning for our jobs; jobs we sometimes don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose; keeping lives and families together.

Now, let’s get serious and come together, so that we can do our duty and glorify Jesus’ awesome name! Much LOVE!

…Jesus has not given us a spirit of laziness…but one of diligence…industriousness…and perseverance…

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

SCRIP-BITS

The Overwhelming Importance of Christians Speaking the Truth to Each Other, and Especially to God!

The Overwhelming Importance of a Good Work Ethic and Preparedness for Unpredictable Circumstances!

The Overwhelming Importance of Christians Uniting and Working Together on Christ’s Behalf!

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