Despite’s Man’s many advancements, the Lord God Jehovah is still sovereign over all his thoughts and deeds!

22 Nov 2024 Leave a comment

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

Proverbs 16:1.        The preparations of the heart in man (plans of the heart belong to man), and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord.

So, finally, it’s the big day of Friday, and as we shout: ‘TGIF Thank God it’s Friday!’ we’re looking forward to either a very restful weekend, or one filled with much partying and frolicking. But either way, we take the weekend to be our God-given right to do as we please. (smile) Be careful though, for the Lord ofttimes has something to say about our doings. 

And let’s remember the old saying, ‘man plans, but God laughs.’ The adage is a reminder that life is unpredictable. Yes friends, the Road of Life is certainly unpredictable, and despite our most careful planning, unexpected changes can happen; changes that can be either disappointing or exhilarating. As one commentary puts it: ‘We might have driving and destination strategies but scenic new vistas might beckon us or unforeseen roadblocks can deter us.’ 

That brings us to the wise words of Cousin Sol in Proverbs 16, which deal with man’s plans and God’s reaction. The chapter opens with this most appropriate and intriguing pronouncement. ‘The preparations of the heart in man (plans of the heart belong to man), and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord.’ (Prov. 16:1) Yes my brethren, although we have the ability and the right to plan, in the long run it’s what the Lord says that triumphs. Or, as the scholars put it: ‘The Lord is sovereign, even over a man’s thoughts and words. 

And Cousin Sol follows that verse with this other important one. ‘All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits.’ (Prov. 16:2) And so it is. We believe that all our doings are right and good, but the Lord doesn’t base His approval on what we do, as much as on why we do it. The Lord mainly looks at our motives for doing things. As the scholars state, ‘The Lord is a great discerner of motives.’ That’s why Cousin Sol later states: ‘When a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.’ (Prov. 16:7) 

And that’s the gospel truth! When the Lord’s happy with our motives, He makes us to find favour even with out enemies. It’s like Bruh David says in that most famous Psalm 23: ‘Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.’ (Ps. 23:5) Oh my people, that’s how our Lord blesses us when we do things His way and not our own. For as Cousin Sol repeats in Proverbs 16: ‘A man’s heart deviseth (plans) his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.’ (Prov. 16:9) And per the scholars: ‘The Lord is sovereign over man’s scheming and planning.’ 

So the long and short of the story is that if the Lord desires to thwart our best laid plans He can. Again, as the old saying goes; the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. And we can all appreciate and agree with that, because many times our best laid plans have indeed been foiled by unfortunate or unforeseen circumstances. That’s just life. But Cousin Sol also tells us in Proverbs 16, how to make our plans not go astray as often. And how is that you anxiously ask? He says: ‘Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.’ (Prov. 16:9) 

As simple as pumpkin pie my people! If we don’t want too many of our schemes and plans to go awry, then we have to begin by basing them on God’s word and His will; be obedient to them. The problem though with this current society is that we believe we know everything, even more than God. So much so we’re fighting tooth and nail to rid our society of Him. But friends, that’s an impossible, fool’s dream, if there ever was one. Because the Lord created the universe and still runs it, and will not give up His power to anyone, especially Satan. 

Mark His words from way back when, through the prophet Isaiah. ‘I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.’ (Is. 42:8) Let’s hope that puts some sense in our heads, for the Lord will not lie down and allow His foolish creations, man and Satan to take over a world He so LOVINGLY created, and has great future plans for. And I don’t know why it’s so difficult for us to understand that God created us and still pulls our strings, although He gives us free will to do a lot of stuff, which we use to do foolishness, like turning away from Him, and trying to erase Him from our society. 

But believe me friends, the Lord will have the proverbial last laugh for He is the Creator and Controller of this entire universe. And the sooner we come to that realization, the better off we will be. And to help us get there, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid to ease our problems. 

Altogether. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough…  because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. 

We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

And if we don’t wake up and become better examples of Christian living, then we will not see any divine aid. It’s as simple as that. The ball is now in our court, so let’s use it wisely nuh. Much LOVE!

…free will is not so much about doing what we want…as about using it to choose God…

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Today’s Scrip-Bit   1 October 2022 Matthew 5:16.

01 Oct 2022 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 5:16.        Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Ah friends, the tiredness and laziness are certainly permeating the ole fella’s body and spirit this lazy, somewhat cloudy Saturday morning, the first day of October 2022. Now I like that sentence because it tells us so many things all in one go. (smile) But I think this lazy Saturday thing is getting into me, becoming a habit, and I don’t like it. I was up earlier on, did a couple of things, then went back to bed, claiming I was still sleepy. But the truth is, an hour or so later, I don’t know if I’m feeling any better than I did the first time I got up. 

Nonetheless, there’s God’s work to be done, which is one of the reasons I’m beginning to dislike the lazy Saturday idea, because rain or shine, sleet or snow, in sickness or health, I still have to do it. (smile) And God’s work on Saturdays entails looking at the quotes our friend Anselm sent us the past week and make something Christian-like of them, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And that’s not always easy, but with God’s awesome help, I always manage to turn out something respectable. ‘Thank You Lord!’ 

And we’ll begin with this interesting quote, which says: ‘If you make your internal life a priority, then everything else you need on the outside will be given to you and it will be extremely clear what the next step is.’ Now, there’s a lot of truth in that, provided Jesus Christ is your Lord and Saviour and you make Him, or your spiritual life, your priority, for He sincerely and faithfully promised: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) That’s food, clothing, and all the other necessities of life. But we first have to believe in Him, and then put Him first in all that we do. 

But I question the last part of the quote, for everything will definitely not be made extremely clear. Yes, somethings will be made clear, but a lot of it we will be expected to walk by faith and trust in Christ Jesus. For what’s the purpose of a God eh, if He tells us everything clearly and leaves nothing to our imagination or faith eh? None whatsoever! 

And that segues very nicely into this next quote. ‘You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go and see what happens.’ And that’s the gospel truth! But you can only do that when your faith and trust in Jesus is strong, and you’ve already had some experience with Him. If He is your guide and protector, then you have to let go sometimes and just let Him lead and guide you. We call him the Good Shepherd, and that’s what shepherds do; lead and guide their flock safely and compassionately. And Jesus is the epitome, the master example of shepherds and shepherding. (smile) 

But in any case, as Cousin Sol so wisely tells us in Proverbs: ‘A man’s heart deviseth (plans) his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.’ (Prov. 16:9) Yes my brethren, our God is sovereign over our scheming and planning, that’s why so many of our bright schemes and plans go astray. (smile) If they are not in His will, then ofttimes He won’t allow them to happen. And even if they are in His will, sometimes it’s just not the right time, so they won’t happen either. That means it’s very important to recognize God’s sovereignty and will over our lives, otherwise His yays and nays will eventually drive us crazy, and possibly turn us away from Him, which is the worst thing we can ever do. 

Then there’s this quote: ‘No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.’ Now there should be absolutely no doubt to that, since it’s been words and ideas that have been changing the world since the beginning of time. They are put in place before any action happens. And we have a great example in the fall of man. Satan spoke to Eve with words, planting ideas in her mind, re eating from the tree of Good and Evil. 

‘And the serpent said unto the woman (Eve), Ye shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods (God), knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes (a desirable thing), and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons (girding coverings)’ (Gen. 3:4-7) 

And there we have it; the first words and ideas that changed the world, that brought sin and disobedience into the life of mankind! And I like how the scholars describe verse six, in terms of 1 John 2:16. ‘Good for food, appeals to appetite, or ‘lust of the flesh.’ ‘Pleasant to the eyes,’ turns us to the law against coveting in Ex. 20, showing as ‘lust of the eyes.’ And ‘to be desired to make one wise,’ according to the use of the verb ‘desired’ in Deut. 5 for coveting, appeals to ‘the pride of life.’ So that just set us on that path of lust and sinful desires. 

But there’s also another great example where words and actions wrought a substantive change to that first foolish and disobedient action of our forefathers. That’s the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God to sacrifice His sinless life so that man could be redeemed, be forgiven of his disgusting sins and disobedience and be once again reconciled to the Father. And how did Jesus put forward His plan to the people, with words and ideas, just like Satan did. And you’ll notice the amazing change in people when those words and ideas sank in. 

Then, when He followed them up with appropriate action…Wow! There was such an uprising of change and clamour like the world’s never seen before, and it’s been taking place down through the ages, even to this day! And in between, we’ve had all sorts of words and ideas that have changed our world, but none as big and lasting as those two. 

And this next quote also follows on nicely to the last. ‘What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.’ More gospel truth my people. What has happened to you, and what will happen to you in the future, depends to a great extent on what lies inside of you. If you have the evil spirit of Satan lurking and working within you, then most likely you will be bound for evil doings and eventual damnation and hellfire. However, if you have the Spirit of Jesus, the Holy Ghost, dwelling within you, as all believers have, and you’re listening to His lead and guidance, then you will be able to accomplish marvellous things in this world. 

Why? Because the Spirit of Jesus dwelling within believers bears wonderful fruit. Fruit like, LOVE, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, kindness, faithfulness and self-control! Now how can those marvelous things dwelling and growing within you not produce most excellent stuff eh? That brings us to this last quote, another interesting one. ‘Do not allow people to dim your shine because they are blinded. Tell them to put some sunglasses on.’ Now that’s putting it nicely! 

Yes, friends, when that fruit of the Spirit begins producing good stuff in us and in our actions, then others will become jealous, disgruntled, or some other negative reaction, because they don’t want to see us shine, especially if we’re shining for Jesus. But as the quote advises, tell them to get a grip, to put on some sunglass if your light is too bright for them, because that’s exactly what Jesus wants to see from His followers. Like He said: ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt: 5:16) 

And with that exhortation ringing in our ears, my fellow saints, let’s get out there and SHINE! SHINE for Jesus! SHINE like we’ve never shone before! Our world desperately needs us to shine in these very depressing and destructive times! And Jesus is counting on us to do just that! Much LOVE!

…the darkness of the world…can only be overcome by…the blazing light of Christian LOVE… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 18 February 2020 Proverbs 27:1.

18 Feb 2020 Leave a comment

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

Proverbs 27:1.    ​Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring.

 

And yuh see how life could turn back and bite yuh! Yes, for all of you in the G.T.A, who were crowing yesterday morning because you didn’t have to go to work, yuh see the dangerous and messy conditions you have to go out in today…the white enemy all over, after a heavy snowfall last night! Serve yuh right for lording it over those who had to go and labour yesterday! (smile) 

Ah friends, it’s just another winter’s day in the northern climes, and as you valiantly forge through it, you must have a good attitude, laugh and chuckle, hope for and think of the sunshine and good weather that soon come, otherwise it’s just going to drive you crazy, as you slip and slide through it. You might not like the snow, but the wise thing to do is to mentally embrace it, with Jesus’ help of course, so you’re not always flustered and bothered when you encounter it. 

Yes, that can be easier said than done, but like everything else in this world, we have been endowed with the parts to live a pleasant and abundant life, we just have to put our best foot forward in Jesus’ name. And all of that brings us to this ever so important principle of scripture and life in general. Hear these immortal, truthful and wise words of Cousin Sol. ‘Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring.’ 

And Jesus described it ever so well in the parable of the rich fool, who had so much wealth and not enough space to store it, that he decided to tear down all and build bigger and better… ‘and there will I bestow (store) all my fruits (crops) and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.’ (Luke 12:18-19) Yes my brethren, that’s how too many of us behave, believers included. We live too much for the world’s wealth and pretty but worthless possessions. 

And Jesus continued His parable with these words of everlasting wisdom. ‘But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?’ Yeh friends, for the lawyers and other professionals involved in the tremendous and foolish litigation that will follow his death! We see that played out everyday in the lives of the rich and famous: somebody is never satisfied with their portion of the estate, or unhappy that they didn’t get any. 

And the warning is also in the Old Testament. In 1 Kings 20, when Ben-hadad, king of Syria, threatened Ahab, king of Israel to destroy Samaria unless he gave up his wealth and power voluntarily, Ahab answered: ‘Tell him, let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.’ (1 Kin. 20:11) Yes my people, we never know what’s going to happen in between time. And Ben-hadad in his righteous anger was defeated by Israel, obviously with God’s help, when he finally came against them. 

But getting back to Jesus’ parable of the rich fool. Here is how He ended it. ‘So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’ (Luke 12:21) And the scholars explain: ‘12:21. Here Jesus brings out the meaning of verses 16-20. Notice that what Jesus calls for follows quite logically out of His own example (2 Cor.8:9), as well as out of God’s graciousness toward all who seek Him (Rom.10:12). Jesus is thus not speaking of a pay-as-you-go faith, but of participation in a relationship in which God already provides what He wishes His people to give back to Him.’ 

Oh my people, remember all that we have belongs to God, and we’re just stewards of His belongings, so it’s rather boldfaced of us to think that we’re giving Him our things. (smile) Anyway, we have space to highlight those two scriptures the scholars quote above. ‘For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.’ (2 Cor. 8:9) Yes, when coming to sacrificial LOVE, Jesus is the poster child for that, the mightiest example to be ever found! 

And the next verse declares (yeah!): ‘For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.’ (Rom.10:11-12) I put in verse 11 so that the context could be better understood, that our God is rich in mercy, grace, forgiveness, what ever have you, towards all and any that call on Him, in sincerity of heart, be they Jew or Gentile! So it doesn’t make sense for us to become so attached to the things of the world, as so many of us are. 

Now hear James theorize on the subject: ‘Go to (come) now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain (make a profit): Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this or that. But now ye rejoice (boast) in your boastings (arrogance): all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.’ (James 4:13-17) 

And the scholars offer a couple of explanations. ‘4:15. This, or that: This verse teaches that God does have something for Christians to do and that they should plan accordingly. James condemns only elaborate planning that omits God (cf. Prov. 16:9).’ ‘4:17. To do good here requires including God in one’s plans. Omitting God is not merely bad planning; it is sin.’ Now if all of that doesn’t grab our attention and teach us not leave God out of any of our business, then I don’t know what will. (smile) 

Now let’s go home declaring (yeah!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are! In strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world.  Amen!’ 

And the end goal is to now go out and share that wonderful friendship and amazing LOVE with those who don’t know Him! Much LOVE!

…a man’s heart deviseth (plans) his way…but the Lord directeth his steps… (Prov.16:9)

Today’s Scrip-Bit 11 June 2019 Proverbs 27:1.

11 Jun 2019 Leave a comment

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

Proverbs 27:1.    ​Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
 

Oh yes, it was indeed a very ‘riney’ day yesterday – from early morn, right on into the night! But it’s very sunshiny and beautiful today though! Glory Be! Like it’s becoming impossible to have a few bright and sunshiny, warm days in a row. But we’ll take them however we can get them yes! (smile) 

Anyhow, here’s an interesting situation. And you’ll notice how the Lord is so up on things? I’m in the habit of telling the duchess that the week is almost done, but I haven’t done even a half of what I wanted to do. And she replies by telling me that time isn’t waiting on me. Then lo and behold, a few days ago, a friend sent me this message via her what’s app app. 

It says: ‘This was sent to me today and couldn’t help but share, very beautiful, very true….! Hardly the day started and … it is already six o’clock in the evening. Barely arrived on Monday and it’s already Friday… and the month is already over. … and the year is almost up. … and already 40, 50 or 60 years of our lives have passed. … and we realize that we lost our parents, friends. And we realize that it is too late to go back … 

So … Let’s try, however, to take full advantage of the time we have left … Let’s not stop looking for activities that we like …Let’s put color in our greyness … Let’s smile at the little things in life that put balm in our hearts. And yet, we must continue to enjoy serenely the time that remains. Let’s try to eliminate the “after” … I’ll do it after … I will say after … I will think about it after … 

We leave everything for later as if “after” was ours. Because what we do not understand is that: after, the coffee cools … after, priorities change … after, the charm is broken … after, health passes … after, the children grow up … after, the parents get older … after, the promises are forgotten … after, the day becomes the night … after, life ends … And after that it’s often too late…. 

So … leave nothing for later … Because always waiting for later, we can lose the best moments, the best experiences, the best friends, the best family … The day is today … The moment is now … We are no longer at the age where we can afford to postpone until tomorrow what needs to be done right away. So after you read this message…  Please share it with others… And don’t leave it for “later”… Or not share it “ever”….’ 

Well I left it for a li’l later, but not for ever. (smile) Yes friends, that’s why they say time flies, and time waits on no one, and why our parents and teachers drilled it into our heads to not leave for tomorrow what we can do today! But do we ever listen? No sir! We still procrastinate and say, tomorrow, even though tomorrow never comes – because it’s always today! 

So let’s hope that li’l message will help us stop putting off things for later, or tomorrow, because we often miss the best of life when we do so. That’s why Cousin Sol warns us in Proverbs: ‘Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.’ And isn’t that the gospel truth? We don’t have a clue as to what will really happen tomorrow. That’s why we should try our best to do what we have to do today. 

And even when we can’t, we should make this proviso as James warns. ‘Go to now (come now), ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain (make a profit): Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 

For that ye ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice (boast) in your boastings (arrogance): all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.’ (James 4:13-17) All of that is simply gospel truth my people, whether we think so or not! 

And the scholars offer some explanations on those verses. ‘4:13-14. This one is a fool, for he thinks he knows something that he doesn’t. He presumes he has the resources to control his destiny. (cf. Prov.27:1; Luke 12:13-21).’ ‘4:15. This, or that: This verse teaches that God does have something for Christians to do and that they should plan accordingly. James condemns only elaborate planning that omits God (cf. Prov.16.9).’ ‘4:17. To do good here requires including God in one’s plans. Omitting God is not merely bad planning, it is sin.’ Matter fix mih people! 

And if you don’t believe James, then you can check out his brother Jesus, when He told the parable of the rich fool, (Luke 12:13-21) who was only interested in his own aggrandizement and left God out of his plans. But what he forgot was that he had no control over the breath of life in his physical body, which belonged to God in the first place. 

So when the Lord decided to take back His breath of life that very night that he was making big plans, the poor fool had no recourse but to go away and leave all his material wealth for others to blow away. And that’s what is likely to happen to any of us who is not rich towards God. And now, having that lesson written indelibly in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, let’s go home declaring (yes!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know who and whose we are. 

In strong voice and sincere sense of purpose now: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world.  Amen!’ 

And as always, the corollary is to go out and share that special friendship and wonderful LOVE of Jesus with those who don’t have the immense pleasure of knowing Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…a man’s heart deviseth (plans) his way…but the Lord directeth his steps…(the Lord is sovereign…over man’s scheming and planning…) (Prov.16:9)

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 September 2017 Psalm 40:3.

12 Sep 2017 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 40:3.   And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.

Oh friends, I went outside just now and the bright sunshine almost blinded me. Wow! What a day it is when both the sun and the Son are shining in all their splendour! 

It’s just too bad that so many of our friends, relatives and neighbours to the south and in the Caribbean can’t enjoy the day like we can. 

Please my brethren, let’s remember them in our prayers, and help them in any other way that we can, for we know not when our turn for disaster will come, and then we will need the prayers and help of others just as badly. 

Now let’s hear some assuring and uplifting words from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s simply titled ‘WHY?’  

Please declare with me: ‘I’m singing today In the midst of adversity – Singing without reason for song. Lord, do You want to know why? Simply because I’m staunchly convinced That as I continue my songs in the night You’ll create a new reason for singing.’ 

Glory Hallelujah my fellow believers! Only we Christians can sing songs and be joyful in the midst of adversity because we know that we have an ever-faithful and ever-LOVING God who watches over us and brings us joy even in the times of pain and sorrow! 

Imagine that nuh! Yeh friends, when we can sing without any specific reason then it means that our faith is growing stronger, our hearts are becoming more godly, as we surrender to God’s holy will and simply say: ‘Not my will Lord, but thine.’ 

It won’t be easy, but hopefully many of our fellow believers who have recently suffered or are currently suffering adversity will have that attitude, because it’s the only one that will get us through those rough times without us completely breaking down. 

And the verse of scripture associated with our poem is also our Bit; those wonderful words of Bruh David from Psalm 40 – Praise for answered prayer, which we all know and LOVE. 

‘And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.’ 

Oh my brethren, isn’t it awesome when God puts a new song of praise in our hearts and we sing it with great enthusiasm and exaltation of His holy name? There is nothing as moving and uplifting as singing the praises of our omnipotent, graceful, forgiving and merciful heavenly Father. 

And as Bruh David continues: ‘Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.’ (Ps.40:4) Yeh friends, it only makes sense to put our complete trust and faith in the ONE who created us and still controls ALL the events and circumstances of our lives. 

What did Cousin Sol say on that topic? ‘A man’s heart deviseth (plans) his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.’ (Prov.16:9) 

Ah mih breddren, when will we ever learn that eh? We can make all the plans we want, but it’s the Lord’s will that will eventually prevail. As the scholars so clearly put it. ‘16:9. The Lord is sovereign over man’s scheming and planning.’ Truer words were never spoken friends! 

And Bruh David so believed in the God of his fathers that he wrote in Psalm 32 – The blessedness of forgiveness. ‘Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass (surround) me about with songs of deliverance.   Selah.’ (Ps.32:7) 

And in Psalm 33 – Praise to the Lord for his creation – the psalmist unconditionally proclaims: ‘Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright. Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. 

Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise (a shout of joy). For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth. He LOVETH righteousness and judgement (justice): the earth is full of the goodness (LOVING-kindness) of the Lord.’ (Ps.33:1-5) 

Now my fellow believers, those are words we cannot dispute, so please, let’s write them indelibly in our hearts and minds and do our best to live them out nuh. In that way we will live righteous lives and bring others to Christ. 

Now let’s go home sincerely and confidently declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are. ‘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 as true believers, we’ll now go out and put all of that into action, like Jesus desires of us! Much LOVE!

…believers ought to be constantly…singing and making melody in their hearts…to the Lord…