01 May 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ambassadors, Amorites, as for me and my house, be my guide, blatant refusal, blessings, bounden duty, Christian living, comfort, covers all the bases, different strokes, difficult times, disicples, do His will, encompassing, encouragement, evil, examples speak more forcibly than words, fear the Lord, feel discouraged, fellowship, first day of May, glamour, glitz, grateful, guidance, happiness, heartfelt thanks, Israelites, Jesus Christ, Joshua, lean on God for support, listen with conern, living God, LOVE, magnanimous god, material possessions, my every deed, my every word, New World Order, one and only God, peaceful moments, praise, praise the Lord for His goodness, prayer, put away the gods, reassure, rejuvenation of spirit, seek God, serve him, sincerity, sinful trap, steadfastness of purpose, strength to keep going, Sunday, talk the talk, thanksgiving, the Euphrates river, the gospel of Jesus, the Great Commission, the Lord's Day, the Most High God jehovah, the other side of the flood, time for church, troubles, truth, ungodliness, ungodly world, uplift, we will serve the Lord, wisdom, worship
Joshua 24:14. Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood (The Euphrates River), and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.
Oh my beautiful believers in Jesus Christ, it’s the first day of May, as well as the Lord’s Day, better known as Sunday!
That means it’s time for church; time for praise and worship, for thanksgiving and fellowship, for rejuvenation of spirit, encouragement and steadfastness of purpose, plus all the other good things that our magnanimous God pours out on those who LOVE Him, diligently seek Him and obediently do His will!
Now I’m not going to harangue or lecture us about going to church today. That shouldn’t be at all necessary, for if you’re a true believer, then you’ll know that’s your bounden duty, so I’ll just leave that up to you and your heavenly Father. (smile)
What I’ve been guided to do though, is to share a prayer which I shared a long time back, so many of you would not have heard it, but it’s one of my favourite prayers. From the first time I found it in my mother’s Bible after she died, something about it just touched me, and I’ve prayed it almost every day after that.
It’s a special prayer prepared by the Life Study Fellowship, Noroton, Connecticut. It’s titled ‘Lord, Please Accept My Heartfelt Thanks!’ And the sub-title is ‘Praise the Lord for His Goodness.’ – Psalm 107:8’
Now please pray with me: ‘Dear Lord, You are so good to me! And I thank You sincerely for the many blessings You send me! I’m very glad to have You in my life day in and day out – whatever I do and wherever I go! You are the One who always does what is best for my happiness!
How grateful I am to be able to turn to You for guidance and comfort when troubles come my way! If any situation arises that makes me feel discouraged, You let me know I can lean on You for support! And because of Your LOVE for me, somehow I seem to find the strength to keep going – even through the most difficult times!
I’m grateful too, for peaceful moments like these when I’m all alone with You in prayer! Talking with You never fails to reassure and uplift me! Nothing I say to You goes unheard. You listen with great concern to everything I confide in You! For You truly care about me!
As I look to 2016 (or whatever year) I pray that You will continue to watch over me – and grant me even more of Your wonderful blessings! And may I serve You well in my every word, my every deed! Be my Guide hour by hour; I pray! Amen.’
Oh friends, I do hope that prayer touched you all! I guess what I like about it is that it covers all the bases, it’s so all encompassing, plus everything it says is true and relevant. Some of you may not like it, but that’s okay; it’s your choice. As they say, different strokes for different folks! (smile) Anyway, that’s my contribution for today.
Now let’s turn to our new Bit, a part of Joshua’s farewell address to the Israelites. He had just finished reminding them about all the good things the Lord had done for them, giving them houses they didn’t build, vineyards they didn’t plant etc.
‘Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood (The Euphrates River), and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.’
Ah mih people, that verse is even more appropriate and relevant in this New World Order than it was thousands of years ago when Joshua spoke those fateful words. That’s because the worshipping of other gods, plus basic ungodliness is so rampant in our current society.
Unfortunately, the ONE and ONLY TRUE and LIVING God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is not held in respect nor reverence by a rather large part of the world. Many people know of and about Him, but yet they steadfastly refuse to honour and obey Him. How sad that is my people, for our world could be truly such a beautiful place if more of us sincerely worshipped and revered the Most High God Jehovah.
Now why the blatant refusal to accept the God of heaven eh? I believe there are two main reasons. First of all, the pull of the material, lustful and sinful world is rather strong. We feast our eyes on all the supposed glitz and glamour and possessions available, and our hearts clamour for them, and the evil one just makes it so easy for us to fall into his sinful trap.
And the second reason is that we believers, supposed ambassadors and disciples of Jesus, who have been assigned the Great Commission (Matt.28:19-20) to teach and baptize and spread the wonderful gospel of Jesus all over the world, are not doing as good a job as we should. The hypocritical examples of our lives are turning people away from Jesus instead of drawing them closer to Him.
So there we have it; Lucifer and his evil cronies are doing a good job on selling sin, while the followers of Jesus are not doing a good job of selling righteousness. No rocket science involved at all friends.
So what are we doing, or going to do to change this rather unpalatable situation eh my believing breddren? All I can say is that we need to pull up our britches and do a better job of spreading the good news of Jesus, and backing it up with perfect, well not quite perfect, but much better examples of true Christian living.
Remember friends, examples speak more forcibly than words, and we can talk all the talk in the world, if we don’t walk that talk, then it’s useless, just wasted talk. And we’ll close with these precious and fateful words of Joshua, declared after our Bit.
‘And if it seems evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood (The Euphrates River), or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ (Josh.24:15)
Yes friends, that’s the big and serious decision we all have to make. And like Joshua, I surely hope that we will all decide, with our families, to serve the Lord God Jehovah, for that is indeed the wisdom of the ages! Much LOVE!
…until more believers get truly serious about the Great Commission…both talking and living it…the good news of Jesus will be sadly lacking in this ungodly world…
12 Apr 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Advocate, baptism, conviction, dissensions, divisions, education, el numero uno, endure, enthusiasm, evangelism, fearful, focus on Jesus, follow me, forceful proactive, further God's glorious kingdom, grow strong, he that finds his life, he that loses his life, I am the beloved of god, I can trust my friend Jesus, I'm not what I do, I'm not what I have, I'm not what people say about me, identification with Christ, if any man will come after me, Jesus, let him deny himself, make disciples of all nations, not worthy of me, Number One Love, our Lord and Saviour, prosper, reactive, share His love with the world, solid foundation, take up his cross daily, take up our cross, teach all nations, terms of discipleship, the grass roots, the Great Commission, the knowledge of Christ, Tuesday Mantra, unseaonable weather, what defines us
Luke 9:23. And he said to them all, If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
And then it was a dry, warmer, sunshiny Tuesday! Glory to God! Yeh friends, Tuesday has dawned much better than Monday did, and let’s hope the remaining days of the week will do likewise.
Oh, they are even forecasting temps up in the high teens for the latter part of the week. Let’s hope that the weather people are right, because we do need a break from this rather unseasonable weather. And all God’s people in the beleaguered northern climes shouted a loud ‘For sure!’ (smile)
But my people, though the weather might be important to a certain extent, we cannot allow it to be a major focus in our lives. It’s not that important. Our focus must be concentrated on Jesus and doing His will here on earth.
And to help us do that this Tuesday, spring-like morning, (smile) let’s declare, let’s confess our Tuesday Mantra with a whole lot of enthusiasm and conviction.
As one now: ‘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.’
And isn’t that the glorious truth my fellow believers? Indeed it is! We are not defined by whom this evil and adulterated world says we are. No! We are defined as God’s beloved children and all the wonderful things that entails!
All praise and glory be to our heavenly Father for His mercy and LOVING-kindness, sending Jesus to die for us, then to become our friend and most trusted confidante! Oh what an honour that is!
Consequently, we are duty bound to share the good news of His gospel and His unconditional LOVE with all we meet, wherever we might go, for we are today’s disciples, entrusted with the sacred duty and directive, aptly named ‘The Great Commission’:
‘Go therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always(s), even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
Oh friends and neighbours, are we fulfilling that mandate to the best of our ability? I don’t think so nuh, else the church of Jesus; His earthly body of followers would be much larger, more cohesive and Christ-like than it is today. The divisions and dissensions, the envy and jealousy and resentment would surely not be as great as they currently are.
Now here is some interesting info from the scholars, termed the ‘Purpose of the Church.’ ’28:19. The controlling purpose of the local church is to make disciples of all kinds of people. Those who are evangelized and converted should then be baptized, attesting to their identification with Christ and the local body of believers.
The final phase of the Great Commission is to train disciples in Christian knowledge and for effective service. A church cannot choose one aspect of its responsibility and neglect the others. The Great Commission is a simple command with three steps – evangelism, baptism, and education.
Illustration: The Great Commission is the strategy by which the church at Jerusalem saturated its community with the gospel. Application: Every Christian should determine that his ministry for Christ in the church upholds God’s objective for that institution. (First Ref. Matt.16:18; Primary ref. Matt.28:19; cf. Phil.1:27).’
Oh my fellow believers in Christ, are we upholding all the aspects of the Great Commission in our local churches, are we saturating our local communities with the gospel? I don’t think so nuh. At least not to the extent that we should.
Are we evangelizing and training disciples in the knowledge of Christ? Not as we ought to. The church of Christ ought to be more forceful and proactive, not fearful and reactive and divisive as it is. Unless we’re all on the same page, nothing truly constructive will be done to further God’s glorious kingdom.
And it all begins with us at the individual and local level my people; right down at the grass roots. The church needs a solid foundation at the bottom, just as any successful organization needs to have, if it is to grow strong and prosper for an enduring length of time, and in Christ’s case, forever.
That finally brings us to our Bit, where Jesus laid down the terms of discipleship in His organization. ‘And he said to them all, If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’
Yes my precious people, to be true disciples of Jesus, we have to take up our cross, and follow Jesus. And please note that He emphasizes a ‘daily’ taking up of our cross, not sometimes, or when we feel like, but each and every day of our lives.
Now listen to how Matthew characterizes it in his gospel. ‘He that LOVETH father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that LOVETH son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.’ (Matt.10:37-39)
Yeh friends, Jesus is supposed to be our NUMBER ONE LOVE! No ifs ands and buts about that! And if we LOVE anybody else or anything more than Him, then unfortunately we are not worthy of Him.
So please, today, let’s take some time to truly ponder what position Jesus holds on the depth chart of our LOVE, and do whatever it takes nuh, with God’s help obviously, to make Him Number One, El Numero Uno! For that is true wisdom. Much LOVE!
…who is the Greatest…Jesus…who is Number One…Jesus…who is our Lord and Saviour…Jesus…who is our Advocate in heaven…Jesus…it’s ALL about Jesus…
P.S. Please excuse the lateness, but the ole fella’s life been sort of topsy turvy these last few days. Got to bring it into balance. (smile) Much LOVE!
02 Oct 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brand new workweek, bounden duty, Bruh Paul, busyness, charlatans, Church of Christ, Colossians, commuting, doctrine, easily led astray, encouragement, endure afflictions, energy, enthusiasm, enticing words, evangelist, exhort, faith, false teachers, feel good, fellowship, feting, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, godliness, good news of Christ, good works, gusto, heap to themselves teachers, I am with you always, in season, in soul body and mind, itchy ears, lest any man should beguile you, long-suffering, LOVE, lusts, New Testament, observe all things I commanded you, out of season, party time, party-animal mentality, peace, preach the word, rebuke, relaxation, renewed and refreshed, reprove, rest, rested, salvation by faith, strengthened, teach all nations, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the daily grind, the end of the workweek, the gospel, the Great Commission, the weekend, this I say, Timothy, turn away their ears from the truth, unto the end of the world, warning, wisdom, with your generous help
Colossians 2:4. And this I say, lest any man should beguile (deceive) you with enticing (persuasive) words.
And then it was Friday Friends, the day we all seem to LOVE, because it heralds the end of the workweek and the beginning of the weekend, which many of us consider to be party time. (smile)
And thus it leads to the mantra that many of us declare each and every Friday: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! Work will soon be over and then the feting will begin! TGIF! Thank the Lord it’s Friday yes! Ah can’t wait for this work day to be over!’
Ah mih people that state of mind is understandable because of the daily grind and steady task that our work week has become, with all the busyness, the commuting, or rather parking lot highways and byways, that has become such a major part of our modern-day lives.
But the party-animal mentality is definitely not the best one to have each and every Friday, because it diminishes the importance of the weekend and our days off. Our Friday Chant offers a much better perspective on the way our weekend should be used. So let’s chant it now nuh, with plenty enthusiasm and thankfulness.
‘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 my brethren, our weekends should be spent with elements of godliness and rest along with some amount of partying. But the end product should allow us to be strengthened and rested so that we can go back out fresh on Monday and began a brand new workweek full of gusto, energy, enthusiasm and peace.
Otherwise our week will undoubtedly be rough and dreary. And that is exactly why Bruh Paul found it necessary to often warn his readers about false teachings and teachers, and in our particular case, the Colossians, which is our Bit for today. ‘And this I say, lest any man should beguile (deceive) you with enticing (persuasive) words.’
And unfortunately my people, our world today is filled with so many charlatans and false teachers with sweet mouths and persuasive words that unless we are well grounded in the Word of God, we can be so easily led astray.
That brings us to Bruh Paul’s warning and encouragement to Timothy. ‘Preach the word; be instant (ready) in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itchy ears;
And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.’ (2 Tim.4:2-5)
What wonderful words of advice and wisdom my brethren, for that is exactly what’s happening in these sorry and sorrowful times! People no longer want to hear real truth, but what makes then feel good, and find and follow those who do so.
Listen to some explanations from the scholars. ‘4:1-4. Preach the word: Preaching is the God-ordained means to prevent defection from the truth. Teachers who appeal to itching ears tell people what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. Thus, both shall be turned into fables (myths or legends).’
‘4:5-8. Do the work of an evangelist: Paul commands Timothy to fully discharge his evangelistic ministry by preaching the gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ. Evangelism is viewed by the New Testament writers as an essential task of the New Testament Church.’
And since we are all a part of the New Testament Church of Christ, then it means that we too should be involved in evangelism; leading people to the Saviour by our godly words and godly lifestyle.
Now many of us make the mistake of thinking that it’s only priests and pastor and preachers who should be involved in evangelism, but that’s totally wrong my brethren! Every believer in, and follower of Jesus Christ has the bounden duty to teach the gospel of Christ; the doctrine of salvation by faith, and not by good works.
Christianity can only be spread by teaching, and if you are a Christian, then you are expected to do your part in spreading it. For remember some of Jesus’ last words to His disciples. ‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always(s), even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
And that is exactly what the disciples did my people, otherwise we would never have known about Jesus and His Good News Gospel. Now the duty falls on us to carry on their work, to continue spreading the gospel, until it has reached the four corners of the earth.
So please, let’s go out today and every day that we’re alive and do just that nuh, for it is indeed the wisdom of heaven. Much LOVE!
…ALL believers are expected to uphold the Great Commission of Jesus…
31 Aug 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a la Jesus, adrenalin, aura of love, baptizing them, believers in Christ, confidence, Controller, Creator, declare God's glory among the heathen, do some good, enthusiasm, faith, friends, further God's glorious kingdom, holy spirit, humble servants, I am with you always, in the beauty of holiness, invincible, Jesus Christ, kick some butt, let the earth be glad, let the heavens rejoice, let the sea roar, lord god almighty, LOVE, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, motors revving, O sing unto the Lord a new song, omni-present, omnipotent, omniscient, proclaim the good news, provider, put our best foot forward, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, righteousness., salvation, saviour jesus, sing unto the Lord all the earth, spiritual armour, spread some love, stand your bounce, steadfast faith, teach all nations, teaches you a lesson, the Great Commission, the Holy Ghost, the Lord comes to judge the earth, the Lord reigns, tremble before God, truth, ungodly world, weary souls, wisdom, worship the Lord
Psalm 96:1. O Sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth.
Awright Friends, the big day, Monday, has rolled around again. So how are we going to handle it eh? Are we going to whimper and complain, or are we going to make the best of a bad thing, put our best foot forward, like our Lord and Saviour Jesus expects of us?
Yuh know that if this morning you are tired and miserable, possibly hung over, it’s all your fault, you didn’t listen to my good advice and spend yesterday getting ready for today. So now you just have to stand your bounce; feel the pain, and get out there and do whatever is necessary. And I surely hope it teaches you a lesson, so that next Monday you’ll be up early, bright and fresh like a daisy. (smile)
Now let’s see about getting us going on the right foot this morning, by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with much gusto and gumption. All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; 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 last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
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 let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, 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, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Ah mih people, that was a tad scratchy, what with the sore throats and hoarse voices. But overall it wasn’t too bad. At least our choir conductor, Jesus, could see us making the effort. It’s just that our physical abilities weren’t up to par. (smile)
But at least the adrenalin is flowing now, and I can hear our motors revving, meaning that we’re ready to go out into the evil world and kick some butt, do some good and spread some LOVE, a la Jesus! Glory to our great God my people!
And if we’re ready to face the ungodly world, then that means we’re also ready to do what our Bit advises: ‘O Sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth.’
Yes Friends, we are called upon to praise our omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present Deity, for he is the Creator and Controller and Provider of ALL!
Now our Bit comes from psalm 96, which itself is a part of Bruh David’s famous song of thanksgiving, after they had brought the Ark of the Covenant up to Jerusalem. (1 Chr.16:7-36) But we’ll just concern ourselves with Psalm 96 today, which continues thus after our Bit.
‘Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; show forth (proclaim the good news of) his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen (the gentiles), his wonders among all people. For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.’ (Ps.96:2-6)
Oh my fellow believers in Christ, there is not one word of untruth in all those statements! Our God is what it says, and has done all that is stated. That is why we should do as the psalmist continues: ‘Give (ascribe) unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give (ascribe) unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear (tremble) before him all the earth. Say among the heathen (gentiles) that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be (is firmly) established that it shall not be moved (shaken): he shall judge the people righteously.’ (Ps.96:7-10)
Oh Friends, more indisputable truth! We need to give our wonderful and mighty God His just due, and to let the world know about Him, by spreading His Word to all the ends of the earth as Jesus desired in the Great Commission. ‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway(s) even unto the end of the world. (Matt.28:19-20)
And you know what Friends? They did as Jesus desired. They spread his word far and wise, so that today we have it in all its rich and splendid glory. Now it’s our turn to continue that commission.
And as the psalmist wisely directs: ‘Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof (all that is in it). Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice Before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.’ (Ps.96:11-13)
Oh Friends, let us indeed rejoice with nature and be glad, for our Saviour cometh, and this time He is coming in all His majesty, power and glory to rule and to judge the earth with righteousness and truth!
That my people is no joke, so please let’s prepare ourselves for that awesome and glorious day, whenever it might be. For that is what is termed, heavenly wisdom. Much LOVE!
…if you’ve heard the word…then Jesus comes and finds you wanting…you’ve no one to blame but yourself…
30 Jun 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a two way street, a waste of time, abounding in mercy, and sin not, be ye angry, Beelzebub, blessed attributes of God, bounden duty, Christ's gospel, Christians, clay of human nature, communication, compassion, displeased, eternal life, evil ways, friends, God will work it all out for our good, God's domain, godly encouragement, good news, gospel truth, grace, gracious, gullible, infiltrate our lives, insecure, Jewish nationalism, Jonah, Joshua Loth Liebman, let not the sun go down upon your wrath, long-suffering, loving kindness, mercy, negatives messages of the world, neither give place to the devil, Niniveh, O Lord, peace of mind, plenteous in mercy, positive affirmation, positive declarations of Christ, ready to forgive, repented, ripple effect, salvation, Scrip-Bit, slow to anger, social media, summer solstice, Tarshish, the Great Commission, the Lord is merciful and gracious, the state of the universe, truth, turn people away from God, very angry, wisdom, words and actions
Psalm 103:8. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous (abounding) in mercy (LOVING-kindness).
Aye Friends, can you believe that it’s already the last day of June, and we haven’t seen a true summer’s day as yet! Hn! I don’t know if that augurs well for the supposed summer months, for since the summer solstice ten days ago we’ve had mostly cool, cloudy wet and windy days.
But as I keep saying, we can’t worry about the state of the universe because that’s God’s domain, and He does whatever He sees fit. We just have to believe that He won’t do anything to harm us, and will eventually work everything out for our good. (Rom.8:28)
But here is something that we can get our heads around; a quote by Joshua Loth Liebman (1907-1948), the American rabbi and best-selling author. Rabbi Liebman was best known for His book ‘Peace of Mind.’
And in this quote, he says: ‘Believe and remember this: every saint and every sinner affects those whom he will never see, because his words and deeds stamp themselves upon the soft clay of human nature everywhere.’
And that’s gospel truth friends, for when we consider the ripple effect of our words and actions, they can affect millions of people whom we’ll never know or see. That’s why we have to consider seriously and sincerely the words and actions that we say and do, for if they are negative, they can cause lots of negativity all down the line to those who hear and see them.
Unknown to us, our words and actions will cause a lot of grief and heartache if they are not of godly encouragement and positive affirmation. We might see the reaction in a few people close to us, but generally speaking, we’ll never know the multitude that are affected by our negativity or positivity, as one person, or one institution passes it on to another, until it becomes a widely accepted and /or recognized saying or action.
And it’s exactly that far and wide kind of positive and godly ripple effect that I hope our Scrip-Bit has; where one person tells another about it and it keeps going until it is spread to all the nations of the world like Jesus commissioned His disciples to do. (Matt.28:19)
Yeh Friends, it’s ever so important that we watch what we say and do, especially in these times of instant communication, where some bit of information can go around the world almost instantaneously. And people are so insecure and gullible nowadays that they tend to believe almost anything they see on the social media.
That is helping in no uncertain terms to turn people, especially the young generation away from God. But fortunately my brethren, the social media can also be a two way street where we use it to bring people to God. There has never been another generation in man’s history where communication has been so quick and so accessible. Please let’s use it to benefit God’s work and not Lucifer’s.
That brings us to our wonderful and glorious Bit; a fact that we desperately need to communicate to people around the world. ‘The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous (abounding) in mercy (LOVING-kindness).’
Oh Friends, I’m sure if more people knew about those most blessed attributes of our God, they would be more inclined to turn to Him and accept His free gift of grace and mercy that leads to salvation and eternal life.
The problem, to a certain extent, is that they are mostly hearing and seeing the negative messages of the world instead of the positive declarations of Christ.
And it’s our job, through the Great Commission to bring it to them, for they can’t believe and/or accept what they have not seen or heard. So please, let’s all do our best to spread the good news of Christ’s gospel, for it is our bounden duty.
Now let’s look at a couple passages of scripture which corroborate our Bit. And we’ll begin with this strange action of Jonah’s after he had preached to Nineveh and they had repented of their evil ways and the Lord had forgiven them.
The Good Book describes it thus: ‘But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was this not my saying (what I said), when I was yet in my country?
Therefore I fled before (previously) unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness (LOVING-kindness), and repentest thee of the evil (one who relents from doing harm). Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.’ (Jon.4:1-3)
Oh my brethren, it has always been difficult for me to understand Jonah’s anger at the Lord’s pardoning of Nineveh until now that I’ve read a plausible explanation from the scholars. ‘4:1-4. Displeased…exceedingly and very angry: Jonah maintains a false Jewish nationalism and hatred of all non-Jews, especially Assyrians.’
Ah Friends, what a waste of time, energy and a good life eh! Unfortunately though, many of us supposed Christians still feel like Jonah these days; we feel and exhibit an anger that is not necessary and totally contrary to God’s will.
In a true believer, there should be no constant or consistent anger. For as Bruh Paul so wisely advised the Ephesians. ‘Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Neither give place (an opportunity) to the devil.’ (Eph.4:26-27)
And that’s wisdom in spades my brethren! We ought not to go to bed angry because that negative atmosphere will persist in our sleep and cause us to wake up angry and most likely do more negative stuff. And right there we give great opportunity to Beelzebub to infiltrate our souls and spirits, which isn’t very wise.
And we’ll end with some more wise words, this time from our other marvellous brother, Bruh David, from Psalm 86 – Teach my thy way, O Lord. Here He unabashedly declares: ‘For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy (LOVING-kindness) unto all them that call upon thee…. But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.’ (Ps.86:5,15)
Oh what words of absolute truth my people! Therefore, let’s take hold of them and run with them nuh, so that we too might be encouraged, uplifted and consequently, eagerly do the work that God has commissioned us to do, instead of having a forced or halfhearted attitude towards it. Friends, please remember that it’s all for our benefit, not for God’s! Much LOVE!
…living for God is easy…when we wisely recognize and accept …His plentiful mercy and grace…
15 Apr 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a blessed day, admonishment, all-knowing, all-powerful, alleviate, as sheep having no shepherd, because they fainted, bounden duty, Christ has no hands feet or tongues but ours, Christ's work, compassion, courage, diligent, diligent workers, dissatisfaction, eat corn dogs, eternal life, eternally separated from God, ever-present, forgiveness, friends, glory hallelujah, God is good, good news, good to the last drop, Gramps Schuller, great abundance, halfway home, harvesters, He was moved with compassion, heart-broken, heathens, His church, His earthly body, Jesus, Jesus is depending on us, Jesus' sacrificial death, joyful, keep on ploughing straight ahead, King of the universe, life isn't fair, LOVE, loving kindness, Mama Mia, mercies, missionaries, monetary contributions, no turning back, onerous, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, pain, persevering, prayer, reapers, reconciliation, resurrection, ride the Ferris wheel, ripe to hear the Word, saviour jesus christ, scattered abroad, sorrow, soul-satisfying, spiritual harvest, spring like day, strong foundation, sunshine everlasting, the Creator and Controller of the universe, the Great Commission, the harvest truly is plenteous, the judgement day, the labourers are few, the Love Revolution, the lustful things of the world, the middle of the workweek, the unsaved, the wonderful sunshine of Jesus, they were weary, truth, unconditional LOVE, Wednesday, wisdom
Matthew 9:36. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted (were weary), and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
Ah Friends, it’s Wednesday, the middle of the workweek, we’re halfway home, so no turning or looking back now, just keep on ploughing straight ahead! And it’s also supposed to be a beautiful, spring like day, with temps in the mid teens and sunshine everlasting. Wow!
And for us believers it’s going to be an even brighter day, because along with the physical sunshine we’ll also have the wonderful sunshine of Jesus shining forth from our lives. Glory Hallelujah!
That means it’s going to be a real blessed day my people, for when you add all of God’s mercies, forgiveness and LOVING-kindness that He’s prepared especially to shower down on us today… MamaMia! I don’t know if we can handle it nuh. (smile)
And today we’re going to get going with an interesting, humorous but also true quote of a couple days ago from my friend Anselm. And it says: ‘Life isn’t fair. A fair’s a place where you eat corn dogs and ride the Ferris wheel.’
Now that’s absolutely true my brethren. But the wonderful thing about it all, is that our GOD IS GOOD… GOOD TO THE VERY LAST DROP! And there’s no denying it. So the world not being fair doesn’t cause us much anxiety, since our Good God is the Creator and the Controller of the universe.
We are the children of the all-powerful, ever-present, all-knowing King of the universe. And all God’s people said a most grateful, ‘Praise the Lord!’
And yuh know what too Friends, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ needs us to do His earthly work, to spread the good news message of His sacrificial death and wonderful resurrection that now allows reconciliation with the Father and eternal life for all who believe on Him. Wow! What an awesome job my people.
But as Gramps Schuller (Robert H. Schuller) says in His Hour of Power Devotional: ‘Christ has no hands but our hands to do His work today. He has no feet but our feet to lead us on the way. He has no tongues but our tongues to tell us how He died. He has no help but our help to bring us to His side.’
Oh Friends, that’s absolute truth! So you see how important we are to Christ’s work here on earth? It all depends on us. And after He’s done so much for us, how can we justify not being diligent and persevering in our work efforts on His behalf eh? We simply can’t!
And I’ve shared that message before, but it’s ever so important that I thought it worth sharing again, since we’re not doing Christ’s work as diligently, enthusiastically and truthfully as we should.
Ah mih people, Jesus is depending on us, His earthly body, His church with strong foundation, built on the rock of His powerful Word, to stir up the LOVE Revolution that will unite the entire world in His everlasting, unfathomable and unconditional LOVE! That’s why he gave the Great Commission (Matt.28:19-20) to the disciples, and consequently to us.
That brings us to our rather appropriate Bit: ‘But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted (were weary), and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.’
Yes Friends, our Lord and Saviour was heart broken when He saw so many people going astray; like lost sheep, with no shepherd to guide them. ‘Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.’ (Matt.9:37-38)
Oh Friends, that’s another admonishment for us to go out and reap a plentiful harvest, because the unsaved are still out their in great abundance, possibly more so today than in Jesus’ time. That means He’s still heartbroken to day, and only we, His true and faithful followers can alleviate His pain and sorrow.
And as the scholars tell us: ‘Verses 37 and 38 constitute one of the great missionary passages of the New Testament. Jesus pictures the world as a great spiritual harvest in need of labourers to gather it into the storehouse.’
Yes my brethren, there are many heathens to be harvested, and there’s lots of space in the storehouses of heaven, but sadly, there are not enough reapers, harvesters and diligent workers to do the job satisfactorily. And if you read between the lines, that’s a slight on us, a mark of dissatisfaction with way we’re doing, or rather not doing, our bounden duty here on earth.
Oh Friends, I know that we can’t all be missionaries to the far-flung parts of the globe, but we can help send some there through monetary contributions and sincere prayers. But we can also do the same job, the job we are called to do, right in our own homes and neighbourhoods, where there are oodles of people who still have never heard of Jesus, and thus have never had the opportunity to accept Him as their Lord and Saviour.
Remember Friends, we will all have to stand before Christ, come the judgement day. And when He asks why we didn’t talk to this one, or that one, right in our area, who was ripe to hear the Word, and unfortunately has since been eternally separated from God, what are we going to answer eh? The truth hopefully; that we were too busy with the lustful things of the world? Steups!
That’s certainly not going to cut it my people. So please, let’s get serious nuh, right in our own areas, let’s be diligent and persevering about reaping the plentiful harvest that’s out there to put in Jesus’ storehouse, so that none will be lost, and thus suffer the worst fate a human being can – that of eternal separation from Almighty God!
Remember too Friends, that Jesus has nobody else but us to do it. So let’s show some wisdom and courage, and just do it nuh. Much LOVE!
…after all Jesus has selflessly done for us…His earthly work should not be perceived as being onerous…but rather…joyful and soul satisfying…
12 Apr 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a travesty of justice, afraid, also to the Greek, and of the Holy Spirit, awe, believers in Jesus Christ, blessens, bonds in christ, bounden duty, Bruh David, Bruh Paul, Christians, comfort, dynamite, dynamo, edify, encourage, enthusiasm, eternal life, ever-faithful God, faith, faith comes by hearing, fellowship, filter into your hearts, forgiveness, gather to worship, go to church, God's gracious provision, hearing by the word of God, hidden under a bushel, I have not refrained my lips, I have preached righteousness, in sincerity, in the great congregation, in the name of the Father, Jesus Christ, listen more than we talk, make disciples of all nations, mercy, no man is an island, number one priority, of the Son, oral communication, personal relationship with Jesus, pilgrim's journey, powerful word of God, praise and worship God, preach Christ, reconciliation, righteousness., sacrifical death, salvation, saving faith, secret, the body of Christ, the good news, the gopsel is the power of God unto salvation, the Great Commission, the most powerful force in the universe, the word of Christ, to the Jew first, truth, zeal, zenith of wisdom
Psalm 40:9. I have preached righteousness (proclaimed the good news of righteousness) in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained (restrained) my lips, O Lord, thou knowest.
Well hello there you beautiful believers in Jesus Christ! How goes it this Sunday morning in mid-April eh? I hope that it meets you all safe and sound, and also up and about, preparing to go to church and praise and worship our wonderful God with other believers. For you know that’s the number one priority of a Christian on a Sunday morning.
Our God both desires and expects it of us, because He is always there ready to shower down blessings, mercy and forgiveness on us, whenever we gather to worship Him in sincerity and truth. That means that though you may have a personal relationship with Christ, that is not sufficient, you still need to meet with other believers in fellowship, to strengthen your bonds in Christ and to encourage, comfort and edify each other.
That’s why Jesus and Bruh Paul talk about His body, the church. It resembles the human body because it is made up of different parts, but all come together to form one body. No one part can’t do it all by itself. Just like no man is an island, likewise, no Christian is capable of doing it all himself.
And if by chance you’re physically unable to get to a sanctuary, then turn on your radio or your TV, find a church program and let the powerful and ever-faithful Word of God filter into your heart through your ears. That’s why He gave us two ears and only one mouth; so that we can listen more than we talk. (smile)
Remember too the fateful words of Bruh Paul to the Romans: ‘So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’ (Rom.10:17)
And the scholars offer this important explanation. ’10:17. The word of God: Better, “the word of Christ.” The reference here is to the oral communication of the gospel. Note that it is not faith in what is heard, but faith that comes about by what is heard. This is what Paul meant in 1:16 when he said the gospel “is the power of God unto salvation.”
Saving faith is not man doing his part in response to God’s having done His part (synergism). Saving faith can come about only through the gospel. Salvation is God’s work alone (monergism). This also shows that there is no other way to be saved but by the explicit gospel of Christ.’
Yes Friends, faith is born, and then grows in us when we hear the word communicated orally. And I guess I’ll have to spoon feed you all here because very few, if any of you will condescend to check out Romans 1:16, so you can better understand the scripture. So here it is. ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth: to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.’ (Rom.1:16)
Please remember my people that the Word of God is the most powerful force in the universe! For as the scholars tell us: ‘1:16. The power of God: The English words dynamite and dynamo are derived from the word “power.” If Paul were writing today he would probably speak of atomic power. The gospel is so powerful that it takes people all the way into heaven.
Every one that believeth: The basis of salvation is God’s gracious provision. (Rom.3:23-26) But the only means by which the sinner can appropriate this gift is faith (10:9-17) The gospel is the essential content of that faith. This is why Paul is so burdened to preach Christ to the world.’
Ah mih people, the power of the gospel of Christ is truly marvellous and miraculous! Without it, our faith would not exist; neither would we enjoy salvation, reconciliation and eternal life! Please keep that front and centre in our lives, as we make our pilgrim’s journey here on earth.
That bring us to our Bit, where Bruh David declares: ‘I have preached righteousness (proclaimed the good news of righteousness) in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained (restrained) my lips, O Lord, thou knowest.’
Yes my brethren, the same way Bruh Paul was enthused to preach the gospel of Christ, that’s exactly how Bruh David felt about God’s Word, and proclaimed it loudly to all and sundry! That job has now fallen to us Friends, but are we expressing it with the great awe, zeal and enthusiasm like we ought to? I doubt it very much. A lot of us are ashamed of Christ, are afraid to talk about Him openly, even to our friends and neighbours, but yet consider ourselves Christians, His followers.
But that’s not good enough my people. Hear how Bruh David continues after our Bit. ‘I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy LOVING-kindness and thy truth from the great congregation.’ (Ps.40:10)
Now that is what all believers ought to be able to say, and until we each can say that truthfully, then we’re not doing God’s will as we ought! Many of us instead of broadcasting the gospel and salvation boldly and diligently, we selfishly hide it in our hearts. But Friends, that good news was not meant to be kept a secret; it was meant to be broadcast to all the world.
Remember Jesus Great Commission to the disciples: ‘Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always(s), even to the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20).
Yes my brethren, that is what all faithful believers in Christ ought to be doing; telling others about His sacrificial death on the cross at Calvary; which paid for our sins from now until eternity, plus the free gift of salvation offered to us through God’s grace, and the wonderful promise of eternal life!
Wow! Oh my people, if you believe that you have all of that, how can you keep it to yourselves eh? It’s a travesty of justice! So please, starting today, right now, let’s up the ante nuh, let’s get more interested and zealous about the cause of Christ, and go out and gladly broadcast it to all the world, for that’s our bounden duty, as well as the zenith of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…the good news of Jesus’ gospel …should not be hidden under a bushel…but brightly exposed for all to see and hear…
18 Nov 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a catch 22 situation, a living Deity, a stubborn and rebellious generation, adversity, affordable housing, affordable housing in the suburbs, almighty god, baptizing them, bounden duty, burst our bubble, commute, declare thy mighty acts, disobedient to God's Word, done god a grave injustice, full of compassion, generation, glory of God's kingdom, God has a good plan for our lives, God will never leave nor forsake us, God will work it all out for our good, God's goodness, going to hell in a hand-basket, grateful shout of joy, guilty, heathen, I am with you always, in the name of the Father, jehovah god, Jesus, kill our spirits, LOVE, Moses warned the Israelites, one generation shall praise thy works to another, overpriced accomodation, passing the Olympic torch, Pharisees, praise Your Holy Name, promises of the Creator, rave, reality of modern life, saints, set their hope in god, steal our joy, teach all nations, teach them to thy sons, thank you heavenly Father, the Great Commission, the Holy Ghost, the Lord is gracious, the SON, the Ten Commandments, traffic snarls, true believers in Jesus christ, trust, wintry Canada, wisdom
Psalm 145:4. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.
Ah Friends, it looks like it’s going to be another day like yesterday in my area; snowy and rainy. But what yuh going to do eh? Not much, but dress for it and take your time along the wet, slick roads. That means you’ve got to leave home even earlier than normal, if you want to get to work on time.
Steups! Some of us can’t leave home much earlier than we already do, and that’s not only in wintry Canada, but all over the world, where traffic snarls are now a twice-daily occurrence. At the rate we’re going, it might just be better for us to sleep at work…Hn, Hn!
Don’t laugh, because it’s true, since the traffic going into the city is backed up before six a.m in my neighbourhood and by 3.00 p.m leaving the city. A lot of people have to leave home at 5 a.m if they want to reach to work for 8. That’s because they bought affordable housing out in the suburbs, and now that affordable housing is being decimated by the long and terrible time wasting commute.
But unfortunately that’s the new reality of modern day life. Lots of people are moving back to the city, but that’s only increasing the prices of accommodation there, so we end up with a catch 22 situation – live in the somewhat affordable suburbs and bear the traffic and commute burden, or buy exorbitant, overpriced accommodation in the city.
What ever you do though, you will pay for it, either in time or money. But Friends, as true believers in Jesus Christ, we can’t afford to let those things worry us, otherwise they’ll just drive us crazy. Oh, we must be concerned and pay close attention to them, but we can’t afford to let them burst our bubble, or kill our spirits and steal our joy.
That’s because we have the awesome promises of the Creator of the universe and all therein, that He will never leave nor forsake us, that nothing, no adversity will overpower us, for He has a wonderful plan and a great future for our lives, and if we trust Him, He will work everything out for our good eventually. Wow!
And all God’s people raised a grateful shout of joy to heaven: ‘Oh thank You heavenly Father for promising to look after us, even though at times we can be very disobedient to your Word. We LOVE You and praise Your Holy Name! Amen!’
And sadly my people, one enormously important area in which we have been very disobedient is not telling our children and the world about Jehovah God. We are indeed very guilty of not following our Bit: ‘One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.’
Ah mih breddren, we’ve certainly done our most merciful and gracious God a grave injustice in that respect. We have failed to do as Moses warned the Israelites: ‘Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul (yourself) diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons.’ (Deut.4:9)
Oh Friends, we haven’t seen as much as the Israelites had seen, but we have indeed seen enough to know that Almighty God is real, a real and living Deity! And if we haven’t taught our sons about Him, who will teach their sons about Him eh, and how will the great message of God be passed on to future generations?
Remember Jesus’ last instructions to His disciples: ‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always(s), even unto the end.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
Oh my people, if those old time disciples hadn’t taken that Great Commission seriously and done as Jesus asked, we would never have heard about Him. That just shows how important passing on the message to the next generation is. It’s like the symbolic passing of the torch that we all so rave about in the Olympics. So let’s rave about passing on the wonderful Word of God too nuh!
And sadly, in our fear and lethargy we have allowed the evil powers of this world to take God out of the schools and other public places, resulting in less God in our society. The Ten Commandments, which should be the basic rules of any society that wants to flourish, are now being flouted with immunity, so why are we surprised when our society is quickly going to hell in a hand basket?
As a generation, we have a lot to answer for my people. We have not done as the psalmist Asaph so wisely said in Psalm 78 – A reminder of God’s goodness to Israel. ‘For he (God) established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:
That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children. That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments. And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright (did not prepare their hearts), and whose spirit was not steadfast with God.’ (Ps.78:5-8)
And Friends, if we’re honest, that last verse describes us to a T! We talk a whole lot about God, but like the hypocrite Pharisees that Jesus lambasted, we don’t walk the walk as well.
But it’s not too late walk it properly, to do as Bruh David declares after our Bit: ‘I will speak of (meditate on) the glorious honour (splendour) of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible (awesome) acts: and I will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly (eagerly) utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.
The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works. All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;
To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.’ (Ps.145: 5-13)
Oh Friends, oh Saints, that’s what we should be doing! Please, I implore us to go out and do it, so that the Word of God will keep being passed on from generation to generation. That’s our bounden duty, as well as heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…if we say we LOVE the Lord and don’t pass on His Word…then we lie…and are no better than the heathen…in fact we are much worse…
26 Oct 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: accept good, Amen, appreciate life, attribute of love, blessed be God, calamity, celebration, clap your hands, confidence, Emeritus Professor, encouragement, enjoy life, enthusiasm, exalt God, face life head on, Father, fellowship, friendship, get up get out get lost, God blesses us so that we can bless others, God of Abraham, God reigns over the heathen, gospel truth, heartwarming emotion of Love, Holy Ghost, I am with you always, I choose to be enthusiastic about my life, in Jesus' name, Job, Juergen Moltman, king of glory, life is a combination of joy and sorrow, life was made for living, light of the world, live life on its terms, LOVE, love and life, love life, one true living God, pain and hurt, passion, passionately, peace, praise and worship, Praise the Lord, real-life drama. live the drama, salt of the earth, shout unto God, Son, Sunday, teach all nations, Thank You Lord, the end of the world, the god of Abraham, the Great Commission, the hand of God, the joy of life, the joy of living fully, the Lord is a great king over all the earth, the Lord most high is awesome, the voice of triumph, theology of hope, true believers
Psalm 47:1-2. O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. for the Lord most high is terrible (awesome); he is a great King over all the earth.
It’s Sunday Friends, Sunday…the day of ‘gatheration!’ (smile) It’s that first day of the week when we gather to praise and worship our most wonderful God and fellowship with each other, offering encouragement, friendship, peace and LOVE!
Wow! What a great time will be had by all! Why is that you ask? Chuh! Because there’s nothing, no celebration in this world that compares to true believers getting together to sing and praise and worship the ONE TRUE LIVING GOD of the Universe!
And that’s because the occasion is filled with that wonderful, adorable and heartwarming emotion of LOVE, which stems directly from Almighty God, and in turn, is His most marvellous and important attribute!
And all God’s children boldly proclaimed: ‘Thank You Lord for Your LOVE! Without it we couldn’t even begin to function in this ungodly and troubled world! Please keep on LOVING us, and help us to LOVE You too, as we ought to. We pray this in Jesus’ Name. Amen!’
That brings me to an interesting quote I want to share again, on the subject of LOVE and LIFE. This comes from Jürgen Moltman, a German Theologian and Emeritus Professor, born in 1926, and noted as a proponent of his ‘Theology of Hope.’
And Jürgen wisely tells us that: ‘The more passionately we LOVE Life, the more intensely we experience the joy of Life!’
What wisdom my people! And to explain that, the One More Day Devotional for those with Chronic Illness says: ‘We can’t hide from the real-life drama around us, though we’d like to sometimes. We need to live the drama, LOVE it, cry with it, and at times even hate it. Choosing to live life on its terms brings enthusiasm and passion into our experience.’
And that’s no lie my Friends! For trying to avoid, to run from the pain and hurt inherent in life, only ‘blinds us to the joys and wonderment of living fully!’
Truer words were never spoken my people! That’s why the most joyful people are the ones who face life head on, who deal with the situations as they come up, without trying to avoid everything that’s painful, because life at its best is a combination of joy and sorrow.
Job recognized that most salient fact when he admonished his wife. ‘What? shall we receive (accept) good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil (accept calamity)?’ (Job 2:10)
Likewise Friends, until we also realize and accept that most salient fact, and stop trying to have no painful moments, we’ll never fully understand, appreciate and enjoy life! That’s why I want us to proclaim and acclaim today: ‘I choose to be enthusiastic about my life!’
Yes Friends, life was made for living, and you can’t live life fully unless you’re enthusiastic about it. And the psalmist, writing Psalm 47, from which our Bit is taken, understood this principle.
Though life is sometimes difficult, he still oh so wisely advises: ‘O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For the Lord most high is terrible (awesome); he is a great King over all the earth.’
And make no mistake my brethren, that is indeed gospel truth!
And as the psalmist continues later on in full confidence: ‘God reigneth over the heathen (nations, Gentiles): God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness. The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shield of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.’ (Ps.47:8-9)
And that my fellow believers is exactly what we need to do today and every day; exalt our great God, because He reigns supreme, as King of Glory!
Yes my people, as we come together to praise and worship the omnipotent God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, let’s remember these true and moving words of Bruh David from Psalm 68, superscripted – God has gone before His people.
‘Ascribe ye strength unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds. O God, thou art terrible (awesome) out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.’ (Ps.68:34-35)
And most important of all my brethren, let’s remember that when we leave God’s sanctuary today, be it a multi-million dollar building, or under a mango tree, we need to take the joy, the glory, the enthusiasm, encouragement, fellowship and LOVE that we receive there, out into the evil and ungodly world that surrounds us and share it with others who unfortunately don’t know Jesus.
Don’t hoard it, don’t try to save it all for yourself, because God blesses us so that we can also bless others. Jesus expects nothing less from us, that’s why He gave us the Great Commission before He ascended back to heaven.
‘Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
And all God’s children declared a loud, grateful and enthusiastic: ‘Praise the Lord! Amen!’
Now Friends, let’s go out and do as Jesus asks, or as our Bishop recently quoted another clergy member: ‘Get up; get out, and get lost!’ That means, take our Christianity into the world and let it shine, with Jesus as our guide, mentor, Lord and Saviour. Much LOVE!
…to be really true believers…we must be truly seen…as the salt of the earth…and the light of the world…
17 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Advocate, belief, believed, Bruh Paul prophet Joel, compatible truths, contradictory., courage, deliverance, disciples, divine sovereignty, drama, embodiment of the Word, Emmanuel, encouraging scripture, eternal life, fallen world, focusing on Jesus, furthering of the gospel, glad tidings, good news of Jesus' gospel, good things, heard, high priest, holy spirit, how beautiful are the feet, indwell all believers, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, knowledge, live our lives in faith, Love our God, make disciples of all nations, mount Zion, Nobody comes to the Father but through Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, paradoxical, Pentecost day, Peter, poignant, powerful, preacher, prince of peace, principles, radio, Redeemer, responsibility, salvation, salvation is of the Lord, shall be saved, Spread God's Word, standing strong in faith, technological age, television, the gospel of peace, the Great Commission, the Life, the one and only superstar, the Truth, the Way, those who preach, truth, universal proclamation of the gospel, whoever shall call upon the Lord, wireless communication
Romans 10:13. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Halfway home Friends, yes we halfway home this Wednesday morning! So please, just hang in there by standing strong in faith and steadfastly focusing on our Lord and Saviour, the Prince of Peace, our Emmanuel, our Advocate, our High Priest and Great Redeemer!
And we all know that to be Jesus Christ – the ONE and ONLY SUPERSTAR in this great universe; the ONE who looks after all our needs!
So let’s take courage and continue to sincerely LOVE our God; faithfully LIVE our lives as He desires, and SPREAD His true and holy Word, so that others can hear it and also come to salvation and eternal life.
And my brethren, just in case you’ve forgotten, or are simply taking it for granted, please remember that Jesus is the magnificent embodiment of the Word, the Way, the Truth and the Life! NOBODY comes to the Father but THROUGH HIM!
Now having set the stage, let’s get on with the drama, (smile) our Bit: ‘For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Ah Friends, what a very poignant, powerful and encouraging scripture!
There, Bruh Paul is quoting the prophet Joel, just as Peter does in his most moving sermon on the day of Pentecost, (Acts 2:21) when the Holy Spirit came to earth to indwell ALL believers from that time henceforth.
Joel says it thus: ‘And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered (saved): for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance (salvation), as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. (Joel 2:32)
Now here’s a note the scholars’ have posted, re our Bit. ’10:13. Whosoever: As chapter 9 stressed divine sovereignty in salvation, this passage stresses the human responsibility. Scripture does not view these two principles as paradoxical or contradictory, but as mutually compatible truths.’
And why should they be incompatible eh, since salvation is of, or comes from the Lord, while accessing it is a human responsibility?
Anyway my fellow believers, though it’s all well and good to have people call upon God’s name and be saved, there are also a few equally important questions, as Bruh Paul so rightly points out: ‘How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?
And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!’ (Rom.10:14-15)
My sentiments exactly! (smile) Yes Friends, people can only call on the name of the Lord to save them after they have heard the good news of Jesus’ gospel preached. And that entails a preacher explaining it to them, which therefore means that we need preachers to go out to those who have not heard the Word and deliver it to them.
For remember, that is the Great Commission that Jesus gave to the disciples, and consequently us, before He left this earth and ascended back to heaven.
‘Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
So my brethren, it’s our bounden duty to teach those around us the Word, and send out others to all nations to broadcast the good news of Jesus, because that’s the only way they will ever hear it, and thus have the most wonderful option of salvation and eternal life.
Fortunately for us, in this technological age, it doesn’t depend entirely on sending out preachers, but we can transmit the Word all over the world by means of radio, television, and all the new-fangled do-dads of wireless communication. The world has never been ripe like it is right now for us to get the Word out my people.
And we’ll close with some important info from the scholars re verses 14-15 above. ‘10:14-15. In presenting the universal proclamation of the gospel, Paul presents the reasons why a universal proclamation is necessary: First, because the call must be preceded by faith; second, because faith must be preceded by hearing.
This shows that knowledge is essential to belief. Faith must have a valid content; third, because hearing requires a preacher; fourth because preaching requires being sent. The One who sends is God. Salvation is completely from God.’
Words of indisputable truth my people! So today let’s contemplate what part each of us has to play in the furthering of the gospel, whether it be close to home or far away, whether it be through personal appearances or by technological means.
But remember, we are all supposed to be, and even more importantly, act as disciples of Christ, which means being involved in spreading the good news of Jesus, wherever, and to whomever we have the opportunity.
So let’s get with it nuh, for Jesus is depending on us to spread His Word, so that not even ONE soul will be lost, and that ALL will come to salvation and eternal life. Much LOVE!
…in this fallen world…there’s no greater…or more important news that needs to be universally proclaimed…than the gospel of Jesus Christ…
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