The Overwhelming Importance of Continually Singing Praises to Almighty God, because it’s His LOVE and Compassion that keeps us Alive!

06 Jan 2026 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 146:2.        While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.

And then it was Tuesday, the first one of the new year, but it’s turning out to be like so many of the recent others; a damp, cloudy, spirit and soul stealing winter’s day, with the sun nowhere in sight. Oh Lord, where is the sun? At least with the sun we can brighten up the winter atmosphere some. (smile) But the important thing is that we are alive and kicking and living for Jesus, and thus we can handle whatever comes against us with a peace and calm that comes only from Him! And I’m chuckling here, as I remember I got a zeppo to share the poem slated for the last day of the old year from our One Year Book of Bible Promises on December 31, but not one to share the first one on the first of January of this new year. 

However, I finally got it today. Oh Yeahhh! And the first page of the Book very appropriately reminds us about ‘The Promise of New Beginnings,’ letting us know that ‘Great is his faithfulness!’ And the scripture passage for that comes from Isaiah 50:4b: ‘He wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.’ Or, as the NLT (New Living Translation) used in the Book says: ‘Morning by morning He wakens me and opens my understanding to his will.’ 

And that’s the glorious truth my people! For every morning we open our eyes to a new day, the Lord grants us new mercies and understanding to handle the day. It’s like Jeremiah says in his Lamentations. ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’ (Lam. 3:22-23) And that’s more glorious truth my brethren! Without the Lord’s mercies and faithfulness we would have long ago been consumed by the fires of hell, and that ought to encourage us to be also faithful to God in our own lives. 

Now, all of that was just the preamble to the poem for the first day, (smile) which is titled, ‘Happy New Year.’  So please read with me: ‘This very first day Of the fresh new year I sing a new song – A joyful, exalted song! With Israel’s sweet singer I exclaim: “How good it is to sing God’s praise How delightful and how right.” The volume increases The tempo accelerates. With glorious anticipation I shout a rousing welcome To the up-and-coming days. The future cannot daunt me Every inscrutable mystery Becomes a consolation of joy For with You in control, dear God The worst may happen But the best is yet to come.’ 

And that’s yet more glorious truth my people! Oh brother are we ever on to the truth today! And so should we be, each and every day, for as Jesus says in the gospel of John: ‘And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.’ (John 8:32) And it certainly will! As this commentary explains; It means ‘adhering to Jesus’s teachings leads to spiritual liberation from sin, not necessarily political freedom, offering a deeper freedom through knowing and living by divine truth. While it’s used academically for knowledge, its core meaning is about spiritual emancipation from bondage to sin and condemnation, achieved by following Jesus and His word.’ 

And freedom from the bondage of sin is exactly what we’re after as we faithfully follow Jesus’ Word. But getting back to our poem. I certainly hope that as we rang in the new year that we sang joyful and exalting songs to God, our Giver of Life and Eternal Father, for that is the appropriate thing to do. It’s as the scripture passage for the poem exhorts: ‘Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah). Praise the Lord, O my soul. While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.’ (Ps. 146:1-2) Or, if you prefer the NLT Version:  ‘Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, I tell myself. I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God even with my dying breath.’ 

And that’s how it ought to be my fellow believers; praises to our great, wonderful and generous God should be continually coming from the depths of our hearts through our mouths, letting the whole world know what a marvellous God we serve! But my favourite part of the poem is the last section, which says; ‘The future cannot daunt me Every inscrutable mystery Becomes a consolation of joy For with You in control, dear God The worst may happen But the best is yet to come.’ 

And so it should be, if you are a true believer in Christ. The future ought not to daunt you, for you have God’s faithful promises concerning it, and with God in control, though some tough circumstances may occasionally envelope us, we’re not worried because we know that end will be fantastic. Jesus promised it, and He keeps ALL of His promises! And since there’s nothing to worry about, (smile) let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. 

As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’ 

And friends, having made that definitive statement, we’re now duty bound to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…whatever our current circumstances…Christians ought always to believe…that the best is yet to come…

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

The Importance of Knowing and Understanding Scriptures on Failure and Weakness!

13 Nov 2025 Leave a comment

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

2 Corinthians 12:9a.         My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength (power) is made perfect in weakness.

Oh my, my, it’s already Thursday, the week has quickly passed by. Only one more day to that time we all look forward to, the weekend, when we get to do our own thing. But in the meantime, let’s concentrate on doing an excellent job at our work places, spreading our salt and shining our bright lights so that Jesus can be proud of us and also be glorified. 

And that segues very nicely into what we are going to talk about today, a quote from my ‘P.S I LOVE YOU’ Poster my young daughter gave me several years ago. It says: ‘If you’re doing your best, you won’t have time to worry about failure.’ And that’s the gospel truth! For failure won’t even enter the situation when you’re concentrating on giving your all. However, failures do happen, and we must be aware of them, not just put on blinders and behave as though we won’t be affected by them. 

And there are a number of scriptures that advise us on dealing with failures. This commentary gives us an interesting insight into them. ‘Scriptures on failure emphasize that setbacks are a part of life, but God offers strength, guidance, and the promise of new beginnings. Other verses focus on God’s presence during hardship, the idea of perseverance, and the promise of God’s plan for a hopeful future.’ Now there’s more truth that we need to see us through this crazy and mixed up life. 

So let’s check out some of those verses that help us handle failure. And we’ll begin with some that tell us about God’s guidance and hope. Up first are these ones that we all know from the wisdom of Cousin Sol. ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.’ (Prov. 3:5-6) And there’s no better place to begin than right there my people. If we want to refute as much failure as possible, we must place our total confidence and trust in the Lord God Jehovah and follow His leading. 

Meanwhile Isaiah gives us another big scripture on depending on God’s providence. ‘But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ (Is. 40:31) And if those two scriptures don’t get you going, then listen to this one from Jeremiah, where the Lord Himself assures us: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’ (Jer. 29:11)  

Oh friends, if the Lord God Himself assures us of that future and a hope, why won’t we believe, expect and work towards it eh? Only if we don’t truly believe in Him and His promises. Now, let’s turn to some scriptures that guide us on perseverance and resilience. And there’s none as big as this one from the wisdom of Cousin Sol. ‘For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief (stumble into calamity). (Prov. 24:16) And that’s something we Christians ought to have very deeply engraved in our hearts, souls, bodies and minds. There is no failing or giving up in Christ! We ought always to get up and keep on keeping on. 

As they say, you’ve not failed until you stop trying, for the darkest hour is just before the dawn and who knows what will happen on our next attempt. And then we have these beautiful and most reassuring words from Bruh Paul in his second missive to the Corinthians, where he boldly proclaims: ‘We are troubled (hard-pressed) on every side, yet not distressed (crushed); we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast (struck) down, but not destroyed.’ (2 Cor. 4:8-9) 

Wow! What towers of power are we believers in Christ Jesus! They can bend us as much as they want, but we won’t ever break, because we’re supported by Jesus Christ, the name that’s above every other name; the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords! Now here’s another gem of perseverance and resilience from Bruh Paul to the Philippians. ‘Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended (laid hold of the fulness of Christ): but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth (forward) unto those things which are before (ahead), I press toward the mark (goal) of the high (upward) calling of God in Christ Jesus.’  (Phil. 3:13-14) 

Yes my fellow believers, that’s how we ought to be, forgetting what’s behind us and ever pressing forward to meet the goal of spiritual maturity in Christ! And finally we come to some scriptures that reassure us by telling us about God’s strength in weakness. Hear this most famous one from Bruh Paul to the Corinthians. After asking the Lord three times to remove an annoying thorn in his flesh, the Lord said unto him, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength (power) is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities (weaknesses), that the power of Christ may rest on me.’ (2 Cor. 12:9) 

What an awesome promise from our great God! His power increases and strengthens us when we are weak. How much better can it be eh? Well just listen to this other promise from Bruh Paul to the Philippians: ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’ (Phil. 4:13) What a marvellous Saviour we have! We can do anything that He desires us to do through His awesome strength! And we’ll close with this tidbit form the psalmist Asaph from Psalm 73: ‘My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength (rock) of my heart, and my portion for ever.’ (Ps. 73:26) 

Oh my brethren, how much more reassurance can we ask from our God eh? He is with us every which way we turn. The problem though is if we are with Him? And our God is so wonderful, that on top of all we’ve said above, He’s also  generously granted us what we call our Thursday Blessings, undeserved blessings to help us do His earthly work. So let’s declare and thus activate them right now nuh. 

As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! 

I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

And having said that, it now behooves us to go out and use those blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…failure in Christ’s kingdom… is not an option…

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