04 Mar 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 21st century, align with, ask or imagine, busy bodies, cast them in the rubbish bin, change, children of God, eyes fixed straight ahead, fixed securely on the plough, for change sake, glorious future with Jesus, God's word and will, good news of the gospel, grace, great is thy faithfulness, grow old, halfway home, have no end, have not been consumed, his compassions fail not, I am the Lord, I change not, immutable, in the fold of the Lord, Jesus Christ, magnificent and magnanimous God, moving faster than ever, not turning back, our perspective on God, power, raison d'etre, refresher course, relative, remain the same in God, strangd doctrines, technological communication, the antichrist, the breath of life, the foundation of the earth, the heart be established, the heavens, the Lord's mercies, the same, the work of thy hands, time, unchanginglove, virtual reality, wak like a garment, Wednesday Wail, workers of iniquity, ye sons of Jacob, yesterday today and for ever
Hebrews 13:8. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.
So then it was Wednesday, and we moving very quickly through the work week. It just seems like time is moving faster than before, faster than ever. And yuh know what? The faster our technological communication becomes, the faster time seems to move. Those who have lived through the days of the snail mail, to these days of instant messaging will surely feel that way. But friends, it’s all relative; nothing but virtual reality. (smile)
The reality of the movement of time hasn’t changed since our magnificent and magnanimous God introduced it eons ago. It’s just our perspective that’s changed. However, it’s ever so important that we do not change our perspective on Almighty God, because just like the speed of time hasn’t changed, He hasn’t changed either.
As the psalmist so rightly says: ‘Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure (continue): yea, all of them shall wax (grow) old like a garment; as a vesture (cloak) shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed (descendants) shall be established before thee.’ (Ps.102: 25-28)
Oh friends, all of that is oh so true! And for our descendants to continue and remain in the fold of the Lord, it means we have to be very careful of what we change in our lives, and not change just for change sake, change just because others in our immediate circle, or the world, or our society are changing. We need to remain the same in God forever and ever!
The talk about this is the 21st century and you’ve got to change because of that is utter rot. This going with the flow is invariably nonsense and does nothing but lead us astray, especially since the current world order is moving farther and farther away from God. And with stuff changing so rapidly nowadays, we need to stop and parse and dissect each and every new thing and see if it or they align with God’s Word and Will. And if they don’t, then automatically cast them in rubbish bin of your life and continue in what you know to be the truth and the will of God!
Please remember these warning words of the Lord spoken through the prophet Malachi: ‘For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob have not been consumed.’ (Mal.3:6) This brings us back to the Lamentations of Jeremiah, where he declares: ‘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)
Yes my people, it’s only because the Lord hasn’t and doesn’t change that we are alive to tell the story. Otherwise we’d be long gone, consumed and removed from the face of the earth! So there is much to be said for not changing, except for very good reason, for change that aligns with God’s will. Yes, that’s the raison d’etre for any change at all in our lives.
That’s why the author of Hebrews reminds us: ‘Remember them which have the rule (lead) over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God; whose faith follow, considering the end (outcome) of their conversation (conduct). Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever. Be not carried about with divers (various) and strange doctrines (teachings). For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats (foods), which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.’ (Heb.13:7-9)
Oh my people, our Lord and Saviour doesn’t change, neither does His doctrine change, so why are we been led about by all the strange and ungodly stuff that’s currently in the world eh? The good news of the gospel, of the kingdom of heaven hasn’t change since Jesus preached it some two thousand years ago, and it will not change even if He doesn’t come back for another two thousand years.
So please be careful of all the busy bodies and the workers of iniquity, and those aligned with the antichrist, for that sort greatly abounds in the current world, and they can be very tempting to our human nature. Thus the timely warning from James, the brother of Christ.
‘But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust (desires), and enticed. Then when lust (desire) hath conceived, it bringeth forth (gives birth to) sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err (be deceived), my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness (variation) neither shadow of turning.’ (James 1:14-17)
And the scholars tell us this, re the Immutability of God. ‘1:17. Since all changes are either for the better or for the worse, God is unchanging because He is perfect and cannot get any better or become worse. The Scriptures describe God’s nature, will, and character as immutable or unchanging.
Illustration: To be immutable, however, does not mean to be immobile. God also has the qualities of personality and can act, think, create, and make decisions. Application: God is unchanging; therefore, Christians can depend on His LOVE and power, because God has not changed since biblical times. (First Ref. Ps. 9:7; Primary Ref. James 1:17; cf. Lev.19:2).’
Ah mih people, I do hope that this refresher course in the unchanging nature of God will henceforth give us pause when we encounter stuff that requires us to change, and we will give it great thought and make sure it aligns with God’s Word and Will before we embrace any of it. Now let’s go home declaring (yeh!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know our enviable position in Christ, so that they will choose to come and join us.
In strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And if you truly believe, you’ll know that the future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine! Much LOVE!
…if God doesn’t change…why should we…true children of God…made in His immutable image…
31 Aug 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: after one time is two, and the servant of all, Anselm's quotes, as a man thinks in his heart, bad or good outcomes, behave as you believe, believe as you behave, Christ's Church, come the judgement, desire to be first, easily hurt, example, external circumstances, fall for anything, feelings of security, focus on, friend, godly beliefs, gospel truth, happiness, help the poor, if any man, is our strength, Jesus' principles, joy, Labour Day, memories, New York City, our mind is the battelfield, our way of thinking, positive vibration, pride, radiated in life, Satan, save the lost, servant, serve somemone, shall be last of all, so is he, stand for nothing, sticky situation, thank you, the Big Apple, the evil one, the Holy Spirit, the joy of the Lord, the same, the things of God, tried by fire, vulnerable, washed the disciples feet, watered down, wishy-washy, withstand the fire
Mark 9:35. And he sat down and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
And then it was Saturday and the ole fella was late getting up. Late nights have a habit of doing that to you! (smile) And it’s not like I did not get up before, but I felt I wasn’t rested enough to take on the big task of writing the Bit, so I went back to bed to get better rested. And that’s why the Bit is late. However, I know that all of you will understand my sticky situation there, having also found yourselves in similar positions at some or other! (smile)
But to tell yuh how things change, and how after one time is really two, I did not even realize that this was the long Labour Day weekend until sometime late yesterday. In times past, oh boy, I would have already been in the Big Apple (New York City), or on my way there to attend their Labour Day Carnival Parade.
But just like the Caribana here has changed, in my opinion, become watered down, so has the New York Labour Day Parade become watered down, also with too much police control now. Steups! As soon as six o’clock comes, they rushing you off the Parkway. And when you add the setta walking …Brother!
The last time I checked it out, believe it was 2007, mih Aunty Anne and I had to park a mile from the parade and walk like everlasting to reach it! We both said no way again Jose! I haven’t been back since then. Even mih Uncle John and them pan side stop coming out because it just wasn’t the same, didn’t have the same flavour.
So I wish that all who go nowadays have a good time, but me ent going nowhere! Like I do with Caribana, I will just remember the good memories I have of those events, and like memories do, they won’t ever leave me! (smile) So let’s turn to the more important matters at hand now nuh; the quotes we friend Anselm sent us this past week.
Hear this first one nuh: ‘Our way of thinking creates good or bad outcomes.’ And that’s for certain sure friends, because it all starts in our minds! Our mind is the battlefield of our souls and bodies. That’s where all the fighting for power goes on between the evil one and the Holy Spirit! For as Cousin Sol informs us: ‘as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.’ (Prov.23:7a).
Yes my people, whatever we think or focus most on, that’s what we become. That’s why believers need to focus on good things, the things of God, if we want to live successful earthly lives.
And the next quote says: ‘Happiness comes from within. It is not dependent on external things or on other people. You become vulnerable and can be easily hurt when your feelings of security and happiness depend on the behavior and actions of other people. Never give your power to anyone else.’
The problem with that statement is the word ‘happiness,’ because that does come from external circumstances. Now if yuh talking about joy, then that’s a different story, because true joy can only come from within, and it’s there regardless of our difficult outward circumstances.
That’ why Satan tries his very best to steal our joy, because he knows that when he does that we simply become down and out. That’s because ‘the joy of the Lord is our strength!’ (Neh.8:10) And also why you can’t afford to allow others to control your situations, since they will invariably steal your joy.
Now listen to this: ‘If you don’t behave as you believe, you will end by believing as you behave.’ So true friends, so true! The corresponding saying is that if you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything and everything! And that’s certainly not a good way to live this hallowed life. So, especially as believers in Christ Jesus, we need to have strong, godly beliefs and stand strong in them, otherwise we’d just be wishy-washy, like so much of the world is today.
And then there’s this: ‘It does not matter how long you are spending on the earth, how much money you have gathered or how much attention you have received. It is the amount of positive vibration you have radiated in life that matters.’ And we all know that to be gospel truth my people! As Jesus said, ‘Ye shall know them by their fruits.’ (Matt.7:16a)
And furthermore, come the judgement, all our works will be tried by fire, and we’ll only be rewarded for the ones that withstand the fire. (1 Cor.3:13-15) So we desperately need to build on the only true foundation, which is our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!
And the last quote wisely asks? ‘How might you serve someone today? How could you take the time to say “thank you” to someone who has graciously loved and served you?’ Ah friends, those are all questions that we should seriously ponder this Saturday morning, because our destinies depend on them. Remember our mighty and majestic Lord Jesus Christ came down from heaven and became a lowly servant, not the Crown Prince He was entitled to be.
Remember what He said to the disciples when they were arguing amongst themselves who should be the greatest among them? ‘And he sat down and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.’ Oh my people, in Christ’s kingdom, being the greatest oftimes means being the least. And Christ’s desire for us down here is to serve and help those who need help and service.
Remember too the great example Christ gave us when He washed the disciples feet, did possibly the lowliest and most hated job in those times of dusty streets and dirty feet. And then His memorable words to them: ‘For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.’ (John 13:15)
Oh friends, that is certainly one area in which the overall body of Christ, His church, and we the people of that church are extremely weak! We don’t serve each other, or the numerous lost and hurting as much as we ought to, because we still have too much pride, and still believe like the world does, that the one who is being served is better than the one that’s serving.
However, that’s contrary to Jesus’ principles. So please let’s check our service meters today nuh, and see how we rank in that area, and take it to the Lord in prayer, because we can ALL do better than we’re currently doing, and that’s a big reason why Christ’s church is not growing and is not as powerful as it ought to be. Much LOVE!
…Jesus came to save the lost…to help the lowly and downtrodden…and that’s what He expects of His church…
25 Aug 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a mighty big man, Abide in me, bring forth more fruit, bringeth forth much fruit, build on life's sinking sand, burdened souls, buried, conquer sin, crucifed, down on my knees, exalt His name, foolish like Lucifer, forgiveness, Gaither Homecoming Festival, glorified, gospel truth, grace, Happy Day, he that abideth in me, husbandman, I am the vine, I can't even walk, I in him, I learned how to stand, is of God, Jessy Dixon, LOVE, made alive, mercy, not sufficent of ourselves, number one, our sufficency, praise, prunes, raised, renew our strength, seated, soulful, succour, sudden awakening, surely be me, teaching me, testing, that valuable lesson, the christian experience, the Lord's Day, the mountain is too high, the same, the true vine, the valley is too wide, through your word, without me, without you holding my hand, worship, ye are the branches, ye can do nothing
John 15:5. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
It’s Happy Day! Yes friends, it’s the happiest day of the week; Sunday, the Lord’s Day, the day when He rested after creating His universe and all therein. When He looked at it, He smiled contentedly, like a workman knowing that he’s done a good job and said: ‘It is good!’ The Lord also wants us to rest on this day, or at least one day of the week, to renew our strength and energy, because He did not make us to be machines, constantly working.
And the best way to regroup for next week is by joining fellow believers in worship and praise at the Lord’s sanctuary, His house of prayer, where we can commune together as one body, Christ’s church, His vehicle for saving the world. So let’s all do our very best to get to the Lord’s house some time today nuh, so that we can sing and praise and worship and exalt His name and find succour and confidence and grace and mercy and forgiveness and LOVE for our weary and burdened souls!
Now let’s commence our proceedings with the usual, a song of praise and thanksgiving. And today it’s something from the Gaither Homecoming Festival of some time back, sung by my latest favourite gospel singer, Jessy Dixon. The song’s aptly titled, ‘I can’t even walk without you holding my hand.’ Yes friends we talking about Jesus here, so let’s get soulful and sincere as we declare these awesome words of truth in sweet harmony nuh.
All together now: ‘I thought, that number one, would surely be me. I thought I could be, what I wanted to be. I thought I, could build on life’s sinking sand. But I can’t even walk, without you holding my hand. I thought that I, could do a lot on my own, I thought, I could make it, all alone. I thought, thought of myself as a mighty big man, But I can’t even walk, without you holding my hand. I can’t even walk, without you holding my hand, For the mountain, is too high, and the valley, is too wide, Down on my knees, I learned how to stand, Because I can’t even walk, without you holding my hand. I can’t even walk, without you holding my hand.
Ohh my Jesus, I can’t even walk, without you holding my hand, For the mountain, is too high, and the valley, is too wide, Down on my knees, I learned how to stand, Because I can’t even walk, without you holding my hand. I can’t even walk, without you holding my hand. Yes my Saviour, I can’t walk, without you holding my hand. Thank You, for teaching me that valuable lesson, through your Word!’
Ah mih people, that was wonderfully soulful! (smile) And Jesus gratefully acknowledged our praise with a nod of His head and a shy smile, because He still doesn’t consider Himself number One! That’s the Father’s position, and He’s not foolish like Lucifer and try to overthrow Him. Anyway, those words are gospel truth, because without Jesus, we’re nothing and can do nothing, as He so plainly tells us in John’s gospel, re the vine and the branches.
‘I am the true (genuine) vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth (prunes) it, that it may bring forth more fruit.’ (John 15:1-2) Now that’s a tough row to how because if you don’t bear fruit, you’re taken away, and if you do bear fruit, you’re still pruned, so you can bear even more and better fruit. As I heard Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) say the other day: ‘You’re pruned if you, and pruned if you don’t.’ But that’s the Father’s way, and also the general way of husbandmen in the physical world.
And Jesus continues: ‘Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:3-5) Don’t you like how Jesus doesn’t mince words, just puts it plainly and clearly? ‘I am the vine and you are the branches…without me you can do nothing!’
And that’s the living truth friends. Remember in our song today, everything was about I thought I could do this, and I thought I could do that, but then we had a surprising and sudden awakening; only when we got on our knees were we able to stand, and even then we couldn’t walk without holding Jesus’ hand. And that’s how it is if we want to be a fruitful part of His LOVE Revolution! And it’s interesting how Jesus used the grape vine as a powerful example, but in the agricultural society that was Israel back then, everybody would certainly understand what He meant.
And the scholars offer this explanation: ‘15:5. The uniqueness of the Christian experience results from the union of Christ and the believer. This is expressed in the scripture as Christ being in the believer and the believer in Christ. Ten times Paul uses the Greek preposition ‘sun’ (together) to describe this relationship. Believers were crucified (Gal.2:20), dead (Col.2:20) buried (Rom.6:4), quickened or made alive (Eph.2:1-5; Col.2:13), raised (Col.3:1; Eph.2:6), seated (Eph.2:6), and glorified (Rom.8:17) together with Christ.
Illustration: Jesus used the image of the vine and its branches to describe His union with the believer. Application: On the basis of this union, the apostle Paul showed how the successful Christian life can be opened with four key words in Romans 6: ‘know’ (vs.6), ‘reckon’ (vs.11), ‘yield’ (vs.13), and ‘obey’ (vs.17). The Christian can conquer sin because Christ lives in him (Gal.2:20). First Ref. John 7:37-38; Primary Ref. John 15:1-5; cf. 1 John 5:13).’
Lots of interesting scriptures there for us to check our friends. (smile) But if you really want to make a difference on Jesus’ vine you will have to know His Word, especially as it pertains to you being in Him and He being in you, for remember you can’t do anything without Him. And we’ll close with these words from Bruh Paul to the Corinthians that also highlight that very salient fact. ‘Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God;’ (2. Cor.3:5) Wise words to live and die by my precious saints of God! Much LOVE!
…only as Christ lives and moves in us…and we live and move in Him…can we do great things for the kingdom…
05 Sep 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, alive, another blessed day, Bless His Holy Name, boundaries, cast us off, chain, chisel, cleanse, comforting knowledge, comforts, Counselor, crash, crucifixion, crush, directed the Lord's Spirit, do god's work, do the will of who sent me, encourages, eternal future, ever-loving deity, finish his work, flood, free from outside influence, get away with nonsense, gives us chances, glad to be alive, glory hallelujah, God will exist forever, God's freedom, grasp anew, halfway home, He is the greatest, He is worthy, he went away again, I AM, if this cup may not pass away, inconsistency, independence, intentions, Jesus' darkest hour, justice, kicking, kind, knowledge, looking forward to, loving, melt, melt you with my love, method of Achievement, mine, Moses, my food, my love, nature, not looking back, o my father, One Year Book of Bible promises, our intention, our priority, planet earth, Praise the Lord, prayed, rebellion, resentment, rules, Ruth Harms Calkin, self-centredness, stifle fears, taught him, thanks and praise, the breath of God, the burning bush, the created, the creation, the Creator, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Good Lord, the method, the path of judgement, the Samaritan woman, the same, the second time, the well of Jacob, thy will be done, turn our lives around, understanding, unless I drink it, volition, Wednesday Wail, who is the boss, with my blood, with myself
Matthew 26:42. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except (unless) I drink it, thy will be done.
Alive! Alive and kicking mih breddren! Yea! The Good Lord has seen it fit to allow us to see another blessed day on His wonderful Planet Earth! Glory be! That means He still has stuff for us to do down here. So let’s go out willingly and do His work today nuh! Make it our priority this Wednesday, as it ought to be!
And all God’s people gave a loud and grateful shout of ‘Praise the Lord! Bless His holy Name, for He is indeed worthy of much thanks and praise! Amen!’
Yeh mih people, our God is indeed a great and powerful God, but also an ever-LOVING and caring deity. That means He doesn’t just cast us off, even when we deserve casting aside. But He works with us, encourages and comforts us, gives us second, third, fourth and even fifth chances to turn our lives around. No other supposed deity does that! That’s why He is indeed the GREATEST!
But though He’s LOVING and kind and all that, He still has rules and boundaries and will not allow us to get away with too much nonsense. I’m reminded of that by this piece in our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, titled ‘Method of Achievement.’
Please pray with me. ‘I said to You: Lord, crush my resentment Chisel my rebellion Chain my self-centredness Crash my inconsistency Stifle my fears. You said to me: I will cleanse you with My blood I will melt you with My LOVE I will flood you with Myself Until you grasp anew – Our intention is the same But the method is Mine.’
Glory be mih people! The method is certainly God’s! He will do whatever we want, but it will be His way, according to His will, and His time! He’s just reminding us who is the Boss! Who is the Creator and the Created! And though He is indeed our Friend, our BEST Friend, He is also our Lord, our God, our Maker and Master, so we have to know our place! Amen!
Even Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour acknowledged that the Father’s will was most important. As He says in our Bit, when He was anguished in the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before His crucifixion. ‘He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except (unless) I drink it, thy will be done.’
Yeh friends, even in Jesus’ darkest hour, He acknowledged that the Father’s will was uppermost. And all through His earthly sojourn He never claimed that He was here to do His will, but always the Father’s. Listen to His reply to the disciples when they offered Him food at the well of Jacob, after He had spoken to the Samaritan woman. ‘Jesus saith unto them, My meat (food) is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.’ (John 4:34)
Ah my brethren, doing the Father’s will should also be our main job on this Planet Earth! He made us, created us for His purpose and if we’re truly faithful, we’ll do what He desires. He has a plan for every life He creates, and it’s our duty to talk to Him and find out what He desires of us personally.
And the scripture promise for our poem today was this interesting passage from Isaiah. ‘Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counselor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him the path of judgement (justice), and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?’ (Is.40:13-14)
And the simple answer to that friends is NOBODY! It was ALL His own doing!
And the scholars offer this interesting explanation re the Freedom of God. ’40:13. God is the only Being in the universe that possesses independence from the Creation. The only limits to God’s freedom are in His own nature and attributes. He is unlimited in His existence. Because His existence relates to His nature rather than His will, God will exist forever. He who exists by reason of His nature rather than His volition must have existed – and must continue to exist – forever.
Illustration: When God revealed His nature to Moses at the burning bush, He called Himself “I AM” (Ex.3:13-15). This name emphasizes God’s self-existence, the fact that He has always existed and always will. Application: Neither anyone nor any outside force will affect God’s relationship to us. He will deal with us according to His nature because He is free from outside influence. (First ref. Gen.6:17; Primary Ref. Is.40:13; cf. Rom.12.1).’
Ah friends, that might be somewhat confusing to some of us, but my favourite part is that nothing or no one will influence God’s relationship with us. Yayyyy! Glory to God! Now, having said all of that, let’s go home rejoicing, declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know our position in Christ Jesus!
So in strong voice, with sincere hearts, let’s wail mih breddren! ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And as always, I can’t help but think that the eternal future with Jesus will be even more glorious than we can hope or imagine! Much LOVE!
…God is…was…and always will be…that’s comforting knowledge to the believer…
06 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a cry in distress, a full picture, a good attitude, a heavenly place, affliction, anchor, basking, boundaries, breath of life, Christians, comforting, communication mad world, confused, created the world, day has dawned, earth, earthly living, endure, enjoy our lives, eternity, extreme celebration, fellowship, forget about work, Friday chant, fun, generous help, glorious kingdom, glory to God, gratitude, greatest gift, grow old, guidebook, have a good time, have no end, healing embrace, heaven, holy spirit, in Jesus' name, indisputable truth, Jesus Christ, joy, joy of the lord, like a garment, limits, lost, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, mortal bodies, my words, on board, only true and living God, our Lord and Saviour, our Redeemer lives, party, pass away, pay, perish, praise your name, prayer of the afflicted, relaxation, rest, rewards, rise up, safely through, shall not pass away, souls, sound bite, spirits, spiritual beings, stress, strong arm, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the Alpha and Omega, the believer's strength, the first, the foundation of the earth, the heavens, the last, the light of God, the same, the weekend, the Word of god, the workingman, time of storm, time to live, understanding, weary, week of work, work of thy hands
Matthew 24:35. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Well friends, the day has dawned somewhat cloudily in my area, but fear not, for our Redeemer lives! Glory to God! Yes my fellow believers, the light of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is still shining as brightly as ever!
Wow! Of one thing we can be sure; His light never dims or diminishes, its divine brilliance is steadfast and strong, always illuminating our lives and our paths. So as we face a new day in an ungodly world, we too need to stand steadfast and strong, gloriously basking in the light of our Saviour.
And the workingman has already reminded us that it’s Friday by loudly voicing his anthem. ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! That means the weekend is here! Glory be! Time to live, to party, to have a good time, to forget about the chupid work and all the stress that come with it…and for so li’l pay too! Steups! Thank God for Fridays and these weekends yes!’
And truthfully friends, we can’t deny what he’s saying; work these days, if you can get it, is truly stressful and in the majority of cases, lacking appropriate rewards. But where the workingman falters is his extreme worldly celebration of the weekend.
Celebrations without boundaries only cause the enemy to get strongholds in our lives, and as Christians, we definitely don’t want, or can’t afford to do such a foolish thing. Therefore we must put up some boundaries, some limits to our celebration.
And our Friday Chant offers a much better declaration. So let’s chant it as though we really mean it nuh. ‘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!’
Ah mih breddren, that’s a much more sensible plea; as we enjoy our time off, but also prepare to get back into the fray in excellent shape, so we don’t miss a beat in doing Jesus’ work; that’s raising up, furthering His LOVE Revolution!
And that brings us to our Bit…yeh, the same one of the last couple of days. (smile) Oh I know that some of you like to have a new Bit every day, but sometimes it’s necessary to repeat them when there is a lot of information to be shared.
I know we’ve become accustomed to the short sound bite in this communication mad world, but we’re not doing sound bites here in the Bit, we’re trying to get as full a picture and understanding as possible, which means sometimes hearing some things over and over. Consequently, you have to be totally on board with Jesus to appreciate it.
Anyway, enough palavering, (smile) here is our Bit: ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.’
What an awesome declaration by our amazing Lord and Saviour! And the great thing about it, is it’s indisputable truth! The Word of God existed even before mankind did. In fact it was the Word, read Jesus, who created the world with words.
And even after this world no longer exists, the Word, and the word of God will exist into eternity. That just goes to show how powerful it all is. And unless we accept and hold on to all aspects of it, we’ll be lost, eventually destroyed, just like the earth.
Now hear the psalmist on the topic from Psalm 102 – A cry in distress, a prayer of the afflicted. ‘Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure (continue): yea, all of them shall wax (grow) old like a garment: as a vesture (cloak) shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.’ (Ps.102:25-27)
Yeh friends, our amazing God, the ONLY TRUE AND LIVING DEITY is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, who was, is and always shall be! What wonderful news for us believers!
On this earth, we have a solid anchor to keep us steadfast in time of storm, a comforting and healing embrace in time of affliction, a strong arm to lean on when we’re weary, and a divine guide when we’re lost and confused. But the greatest gift is that our spiritual beings have a heavenly place to go to when God’s breath of life is extinguished from our mortal bodies.
And all God’s people cried out in gratitude: ‘Thank You Lord, for Your Word, in the form of Jesus Christ, as well as a guidebook for earthly living, overseered by Your Holy Spirit! We LOVE you and praise Your Holy Name! Amen!’
Oh my people, please allow the joy of our God to rise up in our souls and spirits today, so that we can enjoy our lives and do His work with a good attitude. Much LOVE!
…in the joy of the Lord…lies the believer’s strength…
SCRIP-BITS 