The importance of having God’s Law as a Nation’s foundation!

01 Jul 2024 Leave a comment

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

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA!

Yes my fellow Canadians, our country is now one hundred and fifty seven years old. And that’s young compared to many other countries around the world, but we’re proud to be one of the most progressive and peace-LOVING nations in these strife-filled and turbulent times. Oh, we do have our problems, but unlike many other countries, we still try to fix them through peaceful talk, rather than violent upheavals. I don’t know how much longer that will last though, for now there are some, taking their cue from other nations, who have vowed to voice their displeasure through violence if their desires are not met. And it’s only a matter of time before more divisive and uncontrollable dissent reaches our fair land. 

But please, my fellow Canadians, especially for the sake of our children, many born in this new land, and are unspoiled by strife and bloodshed, let’s promise ourselves to avoid, to turn away from the spectre of violence that currently haunts so many other countries, and where death, weeping and anguish, sickness, poverty and economic insufficiency are the predominant features of the land. 

All of us came here from different lands, with the intention to build a better country and lifestyle than we previously had, so please let’s not give up on that dream, for though we have many differences, I believe the similarities are stronger and more pervasive, and it’s time we start focusing on the things that draw us together rather than those that tend to separate us. And please remember that it’s only sincere cooperation and not petty dissension that will see us through to that wisely integrated, strong and steadfast land that we dream of becoming. 

That reminds me of this most appropriate scripture from the pen of Cousin Sol in Proverbs, where he shares this very truthful bit of wisdom: ‘Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.’ (Prov. 29:18) In other words, where there is no prophetic vision or godly revelation, the people cast off restraint, do as they want, and it all ends up in a rather chaotic situation. And we can certainly see the truth of that in so many of the world’s nations, where God and His moral law don’t count for much, if anything. 

There’s no one, or no group with God given revelation actively leading the way, or setting proper direction in most countries. As Asaph says in Psalm 74 – Remember Your Chosen People – ‘We see not our signs: there is no more (no longer) any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long. O God, how long shall the adversary reproach (revile)? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?’ (Ps. 74:9-10) 

Yes friends, that certainly seems to be the case; the enemy is blaspheming God’s name and nature in a most horrible way, and there seems to be none who can stop him, or any who knows when the Lord is going to intervene and take matters into His own hand. And this passage from 1Samuel tells how things were in Israel before Samuel came on the scene: ‘And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious (rare) in those days; there was no open vision.’ (1 Sam. 3:1) 

The last verse of the Book of Judges also tells us the sad state of affairs that existed in Samuel’s early years. ‘In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.’ (Judg. 21:25) And that’s exactly what’s happening in today’s world; everyone’s doing as they please, with people calling right wrong, and wrong right, and the Word of God is held in very low esteem. 

It’s like the scholars explain re that verse from Samuel above: ‘The severity of Israel’s apostasy (abandonment or renunciation of God) (cf. Judg. 21:25) caused a dearth (scarcity, deficiency) of God’s revelatory work. The condition was perpetuating and self-defeating (Prov. 29:18). By God’s grace the prophetic institution would receive renewed impetus and standardization in the person and work of Samuel (cf. Sam. 3:21).’ 

And just to round it all out, let’s see what that last scripture reference says, but starting from verse 19. ‘And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground (fail). And all Israel from Dan even to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.’ (1 Sam. 3:19-21) 

Oh my people, how wonderful it would be for us to have some strong godly leadership right now as our world is currently being turned upside down by the evil doers. But although there is no overall direction, all of us believers know the right things to do, the right way to live, so let’s get serious and do it nuh, and thus make some small headway until a strong prophet, or Jesus shows up to lead us. And to help us do that, let’s turn to Almighty God, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid for our earthly problems. 

Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. 

So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And now, having placed it all in God’s hands, let’s go out and celebrate the birth of our land, but all in moderation, for tomorrow is a workday, and too many of us cannot book off sick because of too rich a celebration. (smile) For that in itself just kills the productivity of our economy, and we need to build it, not break it down. Much LOVE!

…where God’s discipline and morality are lacking…chaos eventually rears its ugly head…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 31 May 2021 Job 21:15.

31 May 2021 Leave a comment

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

Job 21:15.     What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?

Oh brother, it’s Monday again! That means another week has begun! Some people think that in this time of pandemic, the days are moving ever so slowly, in fact they would say that they are practically dragging, (smile) but for me the weeks are passing ever so quickly! And the sad part is that I am not accomplishing most of what I plan to accomplish. 

So what’s going on eh? Is it that I am simply planning to accomplish too much? I don’t think so. I think the time just gets away from me…(smile) Good excuse eh. But I am promising myself that this week, I won’t allow the time to get away from me, and I will make a big dent in my scheduled plans. Stay tuned for a good report next Monday…provided the Lord sees fit to give us life at that time. 

And today we are going to look at an interesting verse of scripture as Job bemoans the prosperity of the wicked. In his sorrow and discouragement, he asks? ‘What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?’ (Job 21:15) Now why does Job ask such a question eh? He is refuting his friends’ assumption that the wicked are judged and the righteous are blessed. He considered himself righteous, but look at what happened to him. In a cruel moment he lost everything, which led his friends to believe that he was wicked. 

And the scholars tell us that ‘if one looks at life objectively: the wicked’s children are established (vs.8), his house is safe (vs.9), his cattle reproduce (vs.16), and so on. He even receives an honourable burial (vs. 32-33).’ And it’s hard to argue with Job’s points, even today friends, but it is indeed wisdom to serve and pray to the Lord. Why you ask? It’s good to look back at another instance where a mortal man asked the same question that Job does above. We talking about the Pharaoh of Egypt. 

When Moses asked him to allow the Israelites to go into the wilderness and feast and worship the Lord, his arrogant reply was: ‘Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.’ (Ex. 5:2) And instead of letting them go into the wilderness to sacrifice to their God, he made their labour heavier. And despite several entreaties by Moses, and several plagues that fell upon the land of Egypt, Pharaoh refused to set God’s people free. 

Not until the tenth plague did he agree to let them go. That’s when all the first born of Egypt, of man and beast, died, and those of Israel survived, because they followed God’s instructions and sacrificed an unblemished lamb, placing its blood on the front of their houses, so when the angel of death passed over and saw the blood they did not destroy those within it. And that’s how the feast of the Passover came to be. That story can be found in Exodus 12. But Pharaoh was still so arrogant and full of himself, that even after allowing them to leave, he pursued them with his mighty army. 

And we have another wonderful example of why it’s important to serve and pray to Almighty God. The Lord parted the Red Sea for the Israelites to cross over on dry land, but drowned Pharaoh and all his host, fulfilling His promise to the Israelites as they stood afraid on the banks of the Red Sea watching Pharaoh and his mighty host approach. ‘And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation (deliverance) of the Lord, which he will show to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace (be quiet).’ (Ex. 14:13-14) 

Yes friends, our God does not make empty promises, so please listen carefully to this one from the prophet Malachi, re the coming day of the Lord, a promise that pointedly ends the Old Testament. ‘For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. 

But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves in the stall (grow fat like stall fed calves). And ye shall tread down (trample) the wicked: for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.’ (Mal. 4:1-3) 

Oh my people, that day of the Lord is the coming of the Great Tribulation, and I don’t think we want to be involved in it nuh, for much anguish and pain will befall the wicked, that’s Satan and his followers. But please notice, that Sun of righteousness, the Messiah, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, has already made His entrance, with healing in His wings. So please don’t doubt that the rest of the promise will also come true. Thus, in light of that, I’m asking those of us who sincerely serve the Lord and seek righteousness, to join me right now, in prayer to our wonderful God, for His divine assistance with our many problems. 

As one strong voice, let’s send up our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to heaven. ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

Now, please remember that the Lord will only answer our prayer positively, after checking the motives of our hearts and seeing that they are right and sincere. Much LOVE!

…blessed are the righteous…and cursed are the ungodly…                                                          

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 19 October 2020 Isaiah 55:6.

19 Oct 2020 Leave a comment

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

Isaiah 55:6.     ​Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.

And the days pass, one after the other, just like they were programmed to do since the beginning of time. Likewise, the days of man, with God fulfilling them as He promised. (Ex. 23:26) And from the day that our forefathers fell for the deception of the enemy, and were kicked out of Paradise, the Garden of Eden, there has been sin, death, evil, violence and every ungodly thing that the devil and fallen man could devise corrupting the world. And I guess it will remain like that until Christ comes back and lays down the law; sets up His eternal kingdom, because mankind doesn’t seem to truly want, desire or like the things of God, like LOVE, joy, peace and togetherness. 

So it’s no wonder our world has been in continual turmoil down through the ages, and right now is experiencing one of the most tumultuous times ever. And just to show that we’re not as brilliant or wise as we believe, we can’t seem to get a handle on any of the problems we’re currently facing, because we can’t even agree that there’s a problem. And those who do agree that we have problems, can’t agree on how best to fix them either. Thus, it looks like we’ll just roll along with the tumbling tumbleweed, wherever the unseen wind blows us, until we implode, or Christ comes back and bashes some sense in our heads. 

But thankfully, on this Monday morning, as the universe unfurls like it ought to, I am here, on Jesus’ behalf, to try and put a li’l sense in our heads, so that we at least don’t get any worse than we currently are. We’ll bring a li’l light to the darkness that’s covering way too much of our wonderful world. And we’ll try to do that by expounding the Word of God, through His prophet Isaiah, as He generously offers free mercy to all and sundry. ‘Whomsoever will may come.’ That’s it in a nutshell. 

Now hear the words the Lord put in Isaiah’s mouth, way back then, words that are still applicable to us today, since our world has not changed, possibly gotten worse, if anything. ‘Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.’ (Is. 55:6) Now isn’t that marvellous advice my brethren, especially in these rough and tough times? It surely is, especially since we can’t seem to solve our many problems in our own strength. And common sense dictates that if you can’t solve a problem, then you go to a higher power for help. 

And the highest power we can ever go to is Almighty God. And He spells it out for us in no uncertain terms. ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is. 55:8-9) Now if that isn’t putting us in our place then I don’t know what it is nuh! (smile) And the scholars tell us that ‘While God may certainly be known by men, He is still incomprehensible in the totality of His person and purposes.’ 

Yeh friends, though our God is close to us, our minds are too puny to even contemplate His true greatness. And despite His awesomeness, He’s most magnanimous and merciful. Hear how Isaiah puts it. ‘Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.’ (Is. 55:7) 

Oh mih people, what a wonderful promise from our Creator! And we all know that He faithfully keeps all His promises, so why are we so reluctant to turn back to Him and receive forgiveness and mercy, grace andLOVE, reconciliation, righteousness, justification and sanctification, all earned on the strength of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross at Calvary eh? It just doesn’t make sense. As I keep saying, when the Israelites messed up and suffered for it, they were quick to run back to God and receive forgiveness. 

Why won’t we eh? Why are we so stubborn and hardhearted, revelling in our disobedience, as we pay an exorbitant price for it? I really don’t know nuh. I guess my mind is just not big and wise enough to fathom such mighty things. (smile) Anyhow, for those of us who are willing to stand by the promise of God, let’s seek His face right now nuh, let’s call upon Him through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, so that we can find Him and receive forgiveness and all the other wonderful things He has to offer. 

As one now, in confident humility: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You that this Monday morning we’re alive and standing in faith despite the mass confusion that’s currently prevailing in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems; the pandemic of Covid -19, the racial, political, and religious strife that’s ignited worldwide, plus the natural disasters like storms, famine, drought, plagues, climate change, wildfires, earthquakes and erupting volcanoes that suddenly seem to be blossoming more and more as time goes by. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously come short in obedience and compliance to Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, and You have faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us, ordinary folks, as well as our leaders, employers and medical personnel, wise guidance and direction to bring our problems under control. 

And for those who are currently suffering from the many negative situations, we pray that You will ease their suffering and heal them. Father, please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again we say: Amen!’ 

The next move is for us to action those words, and begin showing sincere repentance in our hearts, for that’s where the Lord is looking for confirmation of our sincerity.Much LOVE!

…the fool says in his heart…there is no God…how foolish…