16 Mar 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A man without a plan for the day, as for me and mine, aura of love, begging bread, blessings, Bruh David, conquerors, conversation with God, covenant, depart from evil and do good, destruction, evil ways, fellowship, glory hallelujah, Good and upright is the Lord, gospel truth, heavenly Father, him shall he teach in the way he shall choose, holy spirit, humble servants, invincible, is lost before he starts, Jesus Christ, joy, judgement, justice, Lewis K. Bendele, lies, lord god almighty, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, no man comes to the Father but by Jesus, on a positive note, plan for the day, reject, rejuvenation of spirit, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, steps of a good man, te Way, testimonies, the Life, the Truth, turn away, ungodly world, what man is he that feareth the Lord, wisdom
Psalm 25:12. What man is he that feareth the Lord? Him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.
Well Friends, the big day, Monday, is here once again. Glory Hallelujah! (smile)
Ah mih people, we have to start it off on a positive note, else we’ll just make a shambles of the whole day. And per this quote from one Lewis K. Bendele (couldn’t find any pertinent info on him): ‘A man without a plan for the day is lost before he starts.’
And that’s gospel truth my brethren! We have to begin the day with at least some idea of where we want to go and what we want do, else we’re liable to go nowhere and do nothing at all.
And as we keep saying, the best way to start the day is in conversation with our heavenly Father; thank Him for life and all our other blessings, then tell Him our desires and ask what He wants us to do. Have no fear, if we are truly sincere in our desire to be obedient to Him, He will guide us to His will.
So without further ado, let’s get to our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, and sing it with great gusto, in thrilling harmony. As one now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Now that was a good rendition Friends. It didn’t cause heaven to give us a standing ‘O’ or call for an encore, (smile) but it had them all paying attention. So now with our motors running and the adrenalin just driving them, let’s go out and put into action the plan the Lord has devised for us today.
And our Bit thoroughly backs up all that we’ve said above. ‘What man is he that feareth the Lord? Him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.’ And as we said yesterday, we do the same thing for those who choose to follow us, so why wouldn’t the Lord?
Now listen to Bruh David earlier on in Psalm 25. ‘Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he will teach sinners in the way. The meek (humble) will he guide in judgement (justice): and the meek will he teach his way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.’ (Ps.25:8-10)
Yes Friends, the Lord our God is indeed a wonderful deity and will NEVER reject or turn away anyone who comes to Him with a sincere heart and desire to serve Him. He will most definitely give them the opportunity to learn His ways, nurturing them like children at school.
And Bruh David in Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked – wraps it all up thus: ‘The steps of a good man are ordered (established) by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed (descendants) begging bread.
He is ever (always) merciful, and lendeth; and his seed (descendants) is blessed. Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore. For the Lord LOVETH judgement (justice), and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.’ (Ps.37:23-26)
Oh my brethren, Bruh David has said it all right there. The Lord is a fair and just God, who will fight for and uphold those who truly desire to serve Him. The sincere man will lend and show mercy to those in need, and his descendants will not suffer want. As Bruh David says, he’s never seen them ‘begging bread.’ Neither have I.
Meanwhile, the wicked and their seed will be destroyed, face eternal separation from the Father. So I can’t understand why we are so hot to trot after Lucifer and his fleshly, evil ways, since that will only bring destruction. So please Friends, let’s smarten up and do the wise and sensible thing nuh; live for Jesus. There is so much evidence to prove that that is wisdom of the highest order, and we ignore it at our peril.
So now that we have our plan for the day, made in conjunction with God, let’s go out and work that plan, obviously with the help of Jesus, for He is indeed the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no man comes to the Father but through Him! Much LOVE!
…as for me and mine…we will follow the Lord…
11 Mar 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: aggrandizement, anger, another brand new day, ars, bad decisions, breath of life, Bruh Paul, churlish, come to God in prayer, corruption, envy, eternal life, evil, evil minions, faith, filled with the Holy Ghost, follower of Jesus Christ, for other foundation can no man lay, for the benefit of mankind, friends, Gentiles, glory hallelujah, good deed, good works, hate, have no fear, I am the way, impotent man, in all walks of life, Israel, Jesus Christ, Jewish rulers, lackadaisical attitude, lead him to Jesus, LOVE, Lucifer, no man comes to the Father but by me, none other name under heaven', our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, power, power drives us crazy, power for power's sake, Praise the Lord, reasoning, resentment, righteousness., rock of offence, rumours of war, salvation, selfish purposes, selfishness, selflessly, sensible thought, shame, sinners, sins, Solomon's porch, stumbling stone, supremacy, the bane of our existence, the centre of contention, the church at Rome, the fight for power, the gospel, the head of the corner, the Jew, the law, the Life, the loving-kindness of God, the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the nature of the human animal, the stone set at nought, the Truth, the well being of man, the wherewithal to perform His work, the works of the law, truth, ungodly purposes, usurp God's power, Wednesday, which is Jesus Christ, whosoever believeth on Jesus, wisdom, Zion
1 Corinthians 3:11. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Well my people, it’s Wednesday, another brand new day on God’s wonderful earth! Wow! And all God’s appreciative children declared a loud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord! Glory Hallelujah!’
Yes Friends, we need to be thankful for every new day we see, every breath of life that we breathe, for that means God still has something planned for us to accomplish, else He would have taken us home already.
So please don’t be lackadaisical and churlish about greeting each new day, please come to God in prayer and ask Him what are His plans for you on that particular day? Have no fear, if you don’t know, He will certainly inform you of what He desires, and like the wonderful God that He is, will then give you the wherewithal to perform His work successfully.
Oh my brethren, I can’t comprehend the magnitude and LOVING-kindness of our God, that’s why I keep reminding us of the wonderful Deity we serve and worship. There’s none other like Him!
And how could there ever be eh? No two all-powerful Beings like Him could ever survive in this world together. But fools like Lucifer and his evil minions try to usurp God’s power, unsuccessfully of course!
But what is it about power that drives us so crazy eh, that has us doing things that we won’t normally do? And what a lot of us don’t realize is that power for power’s sake is a complete waste of time. And also that with power comes responsibility; the more power, the more responsibility.
And that’s where the problems crop up; so often we don’t take seriously enough the responsibility that power brings, that’s why there’s so much corruption and bad decisions in the power bases of our society. Everybody wants power, but apparently just to use it for his or her own selfish purposes and aggrandizement, not for the benefit of the society or world in which they live.
But fortunately for us there is one with true power, who uses it selflessly, and for the benefit of all humankind. Yes my fellow believers, we’re talking about our most august Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! He had all power in heaven, but chose to give up that awesome power for a while and come to earth to help poor sinners like you and I get salvation and eternal life.
Now why can’t our fellow man do more good works with their earthly power eh, instead of using it for mainly evil and ungodly purposes? I guess that’s just the nature of the human animal. And truly, when most of us get power, especially if we’ve never had much power before, it goes to our head and we just seem to lose the ability for sensible thought and reasoning.
Ah Friends, right now the fight for power, for supremacy is proving to be the bane of our existence. Just look at all the people and groups that are jostling, vying and fighting for power in all walks of life. That’s why there are so many wars and rumours of war, so much hate, resentment, anger, selfishness and envy in our world. It’s all about power!
And I’m chuckling here Friends, because I don’t know how I ended up writing this treatise on power. (smile) That was never my intention at the beginning. But I guess that’s just where the Lord wanted me to venture.
In conclusion, I just want us all to realize the enormous responsibility that comes with power, and if you are a true believer and follower of Jesus Christ, then you are expected to use whatever power you have responsibly, and for the well being of your fellow man, ultimately to lead Him to Jesus, not merely for selfish purposes.
End of sermon! Just hope it didn’t or doesn’t fall on deaf ears. (smile)
Now here’s our Bit. And I believe today is the last day for it. ‘For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.’ Words of awesome truth my people! And if it were not so, I would have told you. (smile)
But there are so many references to it in the Good Book that it has to be true. Let’s check out a couple of them, beginning with Bruh Paul’s message to the church at Rome.
When talking about the Jew and the gospel, he declares: ‘What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. As it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed (put to shame).’ (Rom.9:30-33)
And here’s a word of explanation from the scholars. ‘9:32. They sought it not by faith: Israel mistook the possession of the law as a means of righteousness, when the law was given only to confirm the Fall and to show the need of God’s righteousness (cf. 5:20). Stumbling stone: This is a reference to Messiah (cf. Is.7:14; 1 Pet. 2:8).’
Now listen to Peter from Acts, when they were accosted by the chief priests and elders, the day after John and himself healed the blind man in Solomon’s porch at the temple. The Jewish rulers wanted to know by what name or power they had done the healing.
‘Then Peter filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of (are judged for) the good deed done to the impotent (helpless) man, by what means he is made whole;
Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
This is the stone which was set at nought of (rejected by) you builders, which is become the head of the corner (chief cornerstone). Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’ (Acts 4:8-12)
Yes Friends, that’s indisputable truth! There is no other name under heaven by which mankind can be saved from his abominable sins!
And as the scholars note: ‘4:12. The name of Jesus Christ is the centre of contention (v. 7,10, 12) and ever will be. Salvation for Jew and Gentile alike is exclusively through the name of Jesus Christ. (John 14:6).’
Now let’s remember that as we go about doing Jesus’ work today my people, for it’s wisdom that will stand us in very good stead. Much LOVE!
…I am the way…the truth…and the life…no man cometh unto the Father…but by me… (John 14:6)
P.S. Oh Friends, the Bit’s late because I went to bed late and then had to get up early to do something else, and by the time I was finished, the brain still wasn’t in functioning mode, so I just went back to bed until it was ready to function. (smile) Much LOVE!
11 Dec 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a hearty welcome, a man sent from god, a pattern of success, action movement, another brand new day, anxiety, awe, be on our p's and q's, bear witness, born not of blood, Christ's birth, christianity, Christmas, commercialism, David Thomas, encouraging, excitement, faith, fear, fear not, feel the action of God flowing through us, fight the enemy, forgiveness, friends, fruitful life, full of grace and truth, gain footholds, glory hallelujah, go overboard, heavenly rewards, human form, In the beginning was the Word, indisputable truth, infiltrate our lives, inroads, Jesus Christ, John, keep plugging and plodding on, leading, live a successful life, lot of chances, loving kindness, lustful desires, magnificent and magnanimous God, minding our business, miracle, miraculous birth of Jesus christ, never be thnkful enough, never-ending mercy, our heavenly Father, our Lord and Saviour, power to become the sons of God, power. material things, redeeming sacrifice, respect, reverence, Scrip-Bit family, se;fless act, surrender, Thank you Jesus, Thank You Lord, the biography of souls, the Holy Spirit, the Life. the Light, the light of men, the light shines in the darkness, the most radiant pages in the biography of souls, the Son of God, the things of the world, the Truth, the Way, the will of God, the will of man, the will of the flesh, the Word was God, the word was made flesh, the Word was with God, true believers, trust, ungodly and evil world, unselfish and noble actions, we love you, we shall rejoice and be glad in it, we will follow you to the ends of the earth, wonder, wonders of your glory, worldly trappings, worry, writing from the heart
John 1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Well a warm and hearty Thursday welcome to all you Friends and Scrip-Bit family members out there in this ungodly and evil world. Fear not, for our wonderful God has provided us with another brand new day filled with His never-ending mercy, forgiveness and LOVING-kindness.
Wow! What a magnificent and magnanimous Deity we serve and worship! And all God’s children declared a loud and lusty: ‘Thank You Lord for giving us this new day, filled with all the wonders of your glory! We will praise Your Holy Name and rejoice and be glad in it, just as you desire us to! Amen!’
Yes Friends, it’s time to just keep pressing on and feel the action of God flowing through our lives in a pattern of success. And here’s a quote attributed to one David Thomas. Now I’m not sure which David Thomas it is, because there are so many around.
However, the quote is remarkable and can stand on its own, and highlights and reflects the kind of success we’re talking about. It simply says: ‘Unselfish and noble actions are the most radiant pages in the biography of souls.’
And that surely is indisputable truth my brethren! For our lives usually shine brighter and brightest when we do unselfish and noble acts, regardless of how small or insignificant they may seem. And even better yet, our heavenly Father notes them and heavenly rewards are attached to our names. Nothing could be better than that my people!
And we wouldn’t be true believers if we failed to mention the most unselfish act ever done in this whole wide world; that of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, leaving His comfortable home in heaven to come to earth in human form and offer His holy and sinless life as a redeeming sacrifice for us and our abominable sins.
And all Jesus’ followers cried out: ‘Thank You Jesus! We LOVE You! And we will follow You to the ends of the earth!’
Oh Friends, for that selfless act on Jesus’ part, we can never be thankful enough; there’s nothing we can ever do to repay that selflessness. But there again, Jesus doesn’t want our thanks so much in words, but more in deeds, for His movement, Christianity, is action oriented.
He wants us to believe in Him, that He is indeed the Way, the Truth, the Life and the Light of this evil and sinful world, and live the way He prescribes. Unfortunately though, His way of living runs counter to that of the world, which glorifies power, material things and lustful desires.
And sadly too, a lot of mankind are more enamoured with the things of the world than with those of Jesus. So what are we believers to do eh? Simply keep plugging and plodding on my brethren, and our great and generous God will give us everything we need to live a successful life and fight the enemy.
There’s not supposed to be any fear, worry or anxiety that keeps us from living a right and fruitful life that glorifies Him and helps us bring others to Him. But then again, these are not always easy things to do, especially in the kind of selfish, greedy and ungodly world in which we now live.
Those things take time, faith, trust and sure surrender. So we need to be always on our p’s and q’s, minding our business, not allowing the enemy to make any inroads into our lives.
And this season of Christmas is one of those times when we tend to go overboard and give the enemy a lot of chances to infiltrate our lives and gain footholds therein.
How you ask? By paying too much attention to the worldly trappings which surround it, and not enough to the cause of and reason for it; the wonderful and miraculous birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Oh Friends, I’m chuckling here because I have no idea where this is going. I don’t even have a Bit as yet. It’s one of those days that I like, when I’m writing from the heart, writing what I believe the Holy Spirit of God is leading and encouraging me to write.
So hearkening back to our last point, that of paying more attention to the worldly trappings of Christmas than the real cause for it, Jesus’ birth, I admonish us to try and change the balance in that equation. Let’s tone down the commercialism aspect of the situation, which sadly is being increased every year.
Instead, let’s allow the wonder, the excitement and miracle of Christ’s birth to be number one in our spirits, rather than the presents, food, and other trimmings. We obviously can’t disregard the latter stuff, but instead let’s raise up the former to the prominence that it deserves nuh.
For, remember without the birth of Christ, there’d be no Christmas, and thus no family gatherings and celebrations, no gifts, no food, nothing but another uneventful day.
And I think I’ve said my piece, (smile) now let’s see if I can find an appropriate Bit for all that. Soon come!
Oh Friends, it took les than two minutes. Glory Hallelujah! I was just led to share this most important section of scripture in its entirety. ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended (apprehended) it not.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power (the right) to become the sons (children) of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Which were born, not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.’ (John 1:1-14)
Oh Friends, that says it all; all about Jesus! And the season we’re now celebrating, Christmas, is when that Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, the birth of that Light, the birth of the Word that was God, the birth of Jesus Christ!
So please, please let’s show the proper respect, reverence and awe to such an exceptional and miraculous event. Much LOVE!
… the trappings of Christmas are not as important as the reason for Christmas…the birth of Christ…for without Christ’s birth…there’d be no Christmas…and would that be a sad thing…
17 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Advocate, belief, believed, Bruh Paul prophet Joel, compatible truths, contradictory., courage, deliverance, disciples, divine sovereignty, drama, embodiment of the Word, Emmanuel, encouraging scripture, eternal life, fallen world, focusing on Jesus, furthering of the gospel, glad tidings, good news of Jesus' gospel, good things, heard, high priest, holy spirit, how beautiful are the feet, indwell all believers, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, knowledge, live our lives in faith, Love our God, make disciples of all nations, mount Zion, Nobody comes to the Father but through Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, paradoxical, Pentecost day, Peter, poignant, powerful, preacher, prince of peace, principles, radio, Redeemer, responsibility, salvation, salvation is of the Lord, shall be saved, Spread God's Word, standing strong in faith, technological age, television, the gospel of peace, the Great Commission, the Life, the one and only superstar, the Truth, the Way, those who preach, truth, universal proclamation of the gospel, whoever shall call upon the Lord, wireless communication
Romans 10:13. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Halfway home Friends, yes we halfway home this Wednesday morning! So please, just hang in there by standing strong in faith and steadfastly focusing on our Lord and Saviour, the Prince of Peace, our Emmanuel, our Advocate, our High Priest and Great Redeemer!
And we all know that to be Jesus Christ – the ONE and ONLY SUPERSTAR in this great universe; the ONE who looks after all our needs!
So let’s take courage and continue to sincerely LOVE our God; faithfully LIVE our lives as He desires, and SPREAD His true and holy Word, so that others can hear it and also come to salvation and eternal life.
And my brethren, just in case you’ve forgotten, or are simply taking it for granted, please remember that Jesus is the magnificent embodiment of the Word, the Way, the Truth and the Life! NOBODY comes to the Father but THROUGH HIM!
Now having set the stage, let’s get on with the drama, (smile) our Bit: ‘For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Ah Friends, what a very poignant, powerful and encouraging scripture!
There, Bruh Paul is quoting the prophet Joel, just as Peter does in his most moving sermon on the day of Pentecost, (Acts 2:21) when the Holy Spirit came to earth to indwell ALL believers from that time henceforth.
Joel says it thus: ‘And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered (saved): for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance (salvation), as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. (Joel 2:32)
Now here’s a note the scholars’ have posted, re our Bit. ’10:13. Whosoever: As chapter 9 stressed divine sovereignty in salvation, this passage stresses the human responsibility. Scripture does not view these two principles as paradoxical or contradictory, but as mutually compatible truths.’
And why should they be incompatible eh, since salvation is of, or comes from the Lord, while accessing it is a human responsibility?
Anyway my fellow believers, though it’s all well and good to have people call upon God’s name and be saved, there are also a few equally important questions, as Bruh Paul so rightly points out: ‘How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?
And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!’ (Rom.10:14-15)
My sentiments exactly! (smile) Yes Friends, people can only call on the name of the Lord to save them after they have heard the good news of Jesus’ gospel preached. And that entails a preacher explaining it to them, which therefore means that we need preachers to go out to those who have not heard the Word and deliver it to them.
For remember, that is the Great Commission that Jesus gave to the disciples, and consequently us, before He left this earth and ascended back to heaven.
‘Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
So my brethren, it’s our bounden duty to teach those around us the Word, and send out others to all nations to broadcast the good news of Jesus, because that’s the only way they will ever hear it, and thus have the most wonderful option of salvation and eternal life.
Fortunately for us, in this technological age, it doesn’t depend entirely on sending out preachers, but we can transmit the Word all over the world by means of radio, television, and all the new-fangled do-dads of wireless communication. The world has never been ripe like it is right now for us to get the Word out my people.
And we’ll close with some important info from the scholars re verses 14-15 above. ‘10:14-15. In presenting the universal proclamation of the gospel, Paul presents the reasons why a universal proclamation is necessary: First, because the call must be preceded by faith; second, because faith must be preceded by hearing.
This shows that knowledge is essential to belief. Faith must have a valid content; third, because hearing requires a preacher; fourth because preaching requires being sent. The One who sends is God. Salvation is completely from God.’
Words of indisputable truth my people! So today let’s contemplate what part each of us has to play in the furthering of the gospel, whether it be close to home or far away, whether it be through personal appearances or by technological means.
But remember, we are all supposed to be, and even more importantly, act as disciples of Christ, which means being involved in spreading the good news of Jesus, wherever, and to whomever we have the opportunity.
So let’s get with it nuh, for Jesus is depending on us to spread His Word, so that not even ONE soul will be lost, and that ALL will come to salvation and eternal life. Much LOVE!
…in this fallen world…there’s no greater…or more important news that needs to be universally proclaimed…than the gospel of Jesus Christ…
01 Aug 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, a toe hold, adversary, afflictions, as the deer longs for water, be extra careful, bounden duty, buy wine and milk without money, Caribana, carnival time, celebration, Christ's ambassadors, come to the waters, devour, direction, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, easy pickings, error of their ways, eternal life, everlasting covenant, everlasting life, fantabulous, fellowship, freely, Friday chant, friends, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, gay abandon, generous help, Gentiles, God's free offer of mercy, God's invitation, grace, Granny's advice, guidance, heaven's doors, heavenly succour, holy spirit, Isaiah, Israel, Jacob's Well, Jesus is the Light, leggo-beast, light, long weekend, LOVE, Lucifer, mistake, my soul's thirsty for God, no one comes to the Father but through Jesus, Peter, relaxation, renewed and refeshed, resist steadfast in faith, Revelation, rivers of living water, roaring lion, salt, salvation, Samaritan woman, seek ye the Lord, sober, spiritually hungry and thirsty, steadfast faith, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the devil, the Truth, the water of life, the Way, true believer, ungodly world, vigilant, vulnerable, wisdom, without money
Psalm 42:1. As the hart panteth after (the deer long for) the water brooks, so panteth (longs) my soul after thee, O God.
Oh Friends, it’s Friday – Caribana Friday! And the joyful but raucous shouting begins: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes! Caribana Friday to boot! The partying in T.O is going to be fantabulous this long weekend, with everybody drinking, smoking, doing whatever, behaving like real leggo beast…!’
Hold down mih people, hold down! Wait a minute here! This leggo beast behaviour is not a wise move at all nuh, for you know it is at times like these, when we are at our most vulnerable, that that ole crook and rapscallion, Lucifer, is busiest, at his most zealous, because he knows when we start carrying on with gay abandon, we’re easy pickings.
So please check yuhself from the very start. For if is one time you truly need to heed Granny’s wise advice; ‘drunk or sober, mind yuh business,’ is at Carnival time. And if you don’t believe me and Granny, then listen to Peter.
‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in (experienced by) your brethren that are in the world.’ (1 Pet.5:8-9)
Yes Friends, it is in times of great celebration that we have to be extra careful not to open ourselves up to the enemy and allow him to get even a toe hold in our lives. Now let’s chant our Friday chant with as much gusto as we were just shouting, ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday!’
As one now: ‘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.’
Now please take that to heart my people, because it will save us a whole lot of heartache later on. And having said all of that, let’s finally turn to our Bit: ‘As the hart panteth after (the deer long for) the water brooks, so panteth (longs) my soul after thee, O God.’
You know Friends, I had considered that Bit finished yesterday, but on further research, I found a few more scriptures that also complement it. Listen to Isaiah with God’s free offer of mercy to all. ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.’ (Is.55:1)
And the scholars have this to say about that offer: ’55:1-7. God’s free gift of salvation is offered to all who will receive it. Those who are spiritually hungry and thirsty may come to eat and drink without money (or freely). He promises an everlasting covenant to the Gentiles (vs.3) like the one He established with Israel. His invitation to all men is clearly stated by the appeal, Seek ye the Lord, and call ye upon him (vs.7).’
Ah Friends, you see that from way back when, our wonderful and magnanimous God was freely offering food and drink to hungry and thirsty travellers. But, for whatever reason, people just refused to accept it.
And then along comes Jesus, many years later, making essentially the same offer. As He says to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well: ‘Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well (fountains) of water springing up into everlasting life.’ (John 4:13-14)
And later on, Jesus again makes this incredible offer: ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water.’ (John 7:37-38)
But even then, the multitudes refused His offer. And unfortunately my brethren, two thousand years later, Jesus’ offer of heavenly succour is still on the table, and millions of earthlings are still unwisely refusing it. What can we say to that eh? Not much, other than it’s a fool’s wisdom!
Refusing Jesus’ free offer of grace, salvation and eternal life is the biggest mistake any human being can ever make. But sadly Friends, many many of us are doing it. And it is the job of the true believer to try and show them the error of their ways. To let them know that Jesus is indeed the Truth, the Light and the Way, and no one can come to the Father; enter heaven’s hallowed doors unless they do so through Him!
And John in his Revelations of Jesus’ plans, again offers this great invitation to all and sundry. ‘And the (Holy) Spirit and the bride (the church) say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst (thirsts) come. And whosoever will (desires), let him take the water of life (eternal life) freely.’ (Rev.22:17)
Oh Friends, it’s all available simply through belief and faith in Christ, our wonderful Lord and Saviour!
So today, let’s remember that we are Christ’s ambassadors, the salt and the light of the world, the ones He left to do His work here on earth. That means we have to go out and show the evil, unbelieving, ungodly world what Jesus is truly like, by being our best, most excellent selves, putting forth our best efforts on Jesus’ behalf, so that the unfortunate others can also see the light and add salt to richly flavour their lives too.
That’s our bounden duty that Jesus bequeathed to us. (Matt.28:19-20) So please, let’s go out and do it nuh, for it is wisdom, guidance and direction from on high! Much LOVE!
…too many people are living in the waterless desert… foolishly suffering from thirst…while right in front of them…rivers of living waters abundantly flow…from the free offerings of Jesus…
29 Jun 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, be not afraid, believe in Jesus Christ, believe on him whom he sent, Bible, bless me, Capernaum, celebrate, Christ's people, Christ's victory, comfort, courage, covers all the bases, doubting Thomas, embrace the Son, encourage, eternal livelihood, eternal separation, eternity, everlasting life, exhort, feeds the five thousand, fellowship, first order of business, five loaves, foolish, getting together, God is in our thoughts, god the father, heavenly Father, imperils, individual approach, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus rescues us, John, joy, labour for food that endures, Labour not for food that persihes, let my heart find peace, life in the hereafter, LOVE, lusting after the things of the world, miracle, most worthwhile goal, on the inside looking out, opening prayer, our greatest teacher, peace, physiacl food, placed God in the background, praise, private time with God, reconcile, redeem, salvation, saviour, Sea of Galilee, selfless sacrifice, sinless life, Son of man, spiritual purposes, teaching of Jesus, thanksgiving, the Life, the only way, the Sabbath, the Truth, the Way, the Word, the work of god, time and time again, truer words were never spoken, two fishes, understanding, uplift, utmost importance, walking on water, warning, what God expects, wisdom, work the works of God, worship, worst thing could happen, wrong
John 6:29. Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Oh mih people, how we doing this bright and bountiful Sunday morning eh? I do hope that the Lord is in our thoughts, and that all those who celebrate the Sabbath on Sundays are getting ready to go and fellowship with others of like intentions.
Meanwhile, for those who celebrate the Sabbath on other days, I hope that you have already successfully fellowshipped with your peers. For we need to remember that fellowshipping is extremely important in the lives of Christ’s people.
It’s where we encourage and exhort and uplift each other. So please make it a habit of getting together with others of your denomination at least once a week to celebrate Christ’s victory, and to offer up praise and worship in thanksgiving for all that He’s so selflessly done for us.
And before I forget, here is a most useful prayer that we can all use when we come to share private time with our Maker. I’ve shared it sometime ago, but in light of yesterday’s Bit, where we talked about reading the Word, it seemed rather apropos to share it again. I found it at the back of my mother’s Bible after she went to be with the Lord, and since then, I’ve used it all the time.
It’s plain and simple and to the point. ‘Dear heavenly Father, as I open my Bible, I pray that you will let my heart find peace. As my mind is filled with new understanding, Grant that I may learn the things you want me to know from the words I read. Bless me to find the courage, the comfort, the joy, these pages can bring, as I read about Jesus our greatest teacher. Amen.’
Oh Friends, I don’t think we can getter a better opening prayer than that, for it covers all the bases! But it’s your choice to use it or not, though you can certainly use it as a guide to develop your own individual approach. Whatever you’re comfortable with, that’s what you ought to use.
And today, my fellow believers, we’re going to look at an interesting and most important teaching of Jesus. This happens the day after He feeds the five thousand with the five barley loaves and two small fishes, then gathers up twelve baskets with the remnants of that meal. That certainly opened their eyes and made them believe that Jesus was indeed a prophet. (John 6:1-14)
But Jesus fearing that they would take Him by force and try to make Him king, went off by Himself into the mountains. Then that evening, without Jesus, the disciples got into a boat to cross over the Sea of Galilee, but part way over a wicked storm hit them.
And like the gracious Saviour He is, who comes to our rescue time and time again, the disciples, now in great despair for their lives, eventually see Him walking on the water towards them, saying; ‘It is I; be not afraid.’ (John 6:20)
Now obviously after hearing about Jesus great miracle of feeding, the next day throngs gathered in expectation of more of the same. But unfortunately they couldn’t find Jesus, although they knew that He hadn’t gone over in the boat with the disciples. But nonetheless, they rushed over by boat to the other side, to Capernaum, looking for Him.
‘And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles (signs), but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.’ (John 6:25-26)
Jesus knew that they weren’t looking for Him for spiritual purposes, for spiritual fodder, but for physical food. And He therefore warns them: ‘Labour not for the meat (food) which perisheth, but for that meat (food) which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.’ (John 6:27)
Oh Friends, that warning is also of the utmost importance to us today, as we have sadly placed God in the background of our society with only sparse acknowledgment, and are daily lusting more and more after the unenduring things of the world.
And that is oh so wrong, so foolish my brethren, because it imperils our salvation, our eternal livelihood, setting us up for eternal separation from Almighty God, which is the very worst thing that could ever happen to a human being!
And the crowd back then, not fully understanding Jesus’ words, continued: ‘Then said they unto him, what shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.’ (John 6:28-29)
Yes Friends, that is what God expects of us! Before we can do anything in His name, we must first believe in and on Jesus Christ; the One He sent to enlighten us, to selflessly sacrifice His sinless life on our behalf, and thus redeem and reconcile us to Himself! That, my people, ought to be our first order of business! Not the last, as some of us consider it.
And that is quite ably backed up by Jesus’ statement to doubting Thomas, when he declared: ‘Lord, we know not wither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.’ (John 14:5-6)
Oh my brethren, no truer words have ever been spoken! So if you are truly concerned about your life in the hereafter, and you ought to be, then you’d better take those words to heart and put them into action in your life. For that my Friends, is indeed wisdom of the highest order possible. Much LOVE!
…to spend eternity on the inside with the Father looking out…one must first embrace the Son and all that He stands for…that’s the ONLY WAY to achieve that most worthwhile goal…
10 Jun 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fighting chance, a lame man, a one-day affair, a strong hand to hold on to, amazement, ambassadors of Christ, apostles, astonishment, beautiful effects, begging for alms, behaviour of the first Christians, beliefs, busyness, but what I have I gve you, change our lives, christianity, Christians, clean up our act, correct our behaviour, disdain, enthusiasm, envious, evening sacrifices, everlasting life, evil, fallible beings, fight the battles of this ungodly world, filled with wonder, future generations, give courage, God is the only infallible being, God working wonders in our lives, God's mercy and blessings, greedy, heavenly wisdom, his feet and ankle bones received strength, holy spirit, Holy Spirit of Jesus, hypocritical lives, image of our faith, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, indwell all believers, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, Jesus christ of Nazareth, Jewish prayer time, John, lackadaisical attitude, last days, lead and guide, leaping, lifted hm up, living a good enough Christian life, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, loving god, make the necessary amends, memorable arrival, offering of incense, paths of truth, pecolate through our spirits, Pentecost, Peter, praising God, relieve fears, resentful, righteousness., rise to the occasion, rise up and walk, running amok, running riot, salvation, showing of gratitude, signs and wonders, silver and gold I have none, simpler times of life, Solomon's porch, something true to believe in, spirit of LOVE, stirring up the people, sustenance, take God's goodness for granted, terrible fate, test my patience, the apostles, the Beautiful gate of the temple, the Life, the ninth hour, the Truth, the Way, tide of Christianity, troubled times, unbelievers, wake up, walking, war mongering, wonder, worldly pride
Acts 3:6. Then Peter said, silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
Oh Friends, first of all, on this wonderful Tuesday morning, let me apologize for an error I made yesterday. I don’t know how many of you noticed it though, with the busy way we read stuff these days. (smile)
Originally I had intended to use Acts 4:31 as our Bit, and began writing thus. But then I was guided to change it to Acts 2:47. However in my busyness and enthusiasm and whatever else, I forgot to change the first heading, so that it still read Acts 4:31, while the second one read Acts 2:47.
I guess every so often the Lord brings up something to lower our worldly pride and remind us that we’re still, and will always be fallible beings, totally dependent on His mercy and blessings, as He is the only infallible Being in the universe.
And having said that, I want to continue our focus on Pentecost for at least today, for who knows what will happen tomorrow. (smile) And I want to do so, because that Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit made its rather memorable arrival to indwell ALL believers, wasn’t a one-day affair.
The beautiful effects continued for a while, with many signs and wonders being done through the apostles. And I just want us to have some idea of how it affected the overall beliefs and behaviour of those first Christians.
Now one day, soon thereafter, as the tide of Christianity was rising, Peter and John went up to the temple to pray around the ninth hour.
And the scholars give us some timely info here. ‘3:1. According to Jewish reckoning, the day began at 6 a.m. Hence the ninth hour is 3 p.m. The Jewish prayer time was held in conjunction with the evening sacrifices and offering of incense (c.f. Luke 1:8-10; Rev.8:3-4). Peter and John commonly went to the temple to pray at this hour. The Greek imperfect tense could well be translated “used to go up.”
On that particular day though, a lame man begging for alms, met them at the temple entrance. But instead of giving him money, the Good Book tells us: ‘And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
Then Peter said, silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.’ (Acts 3:4-8)
Oh Friends, that’s the way we ought to behave when God does something good in our lives!
Sadly though, too many of us just take His goodness for granted and pass off those occasions without the proper and necessary showing of gratitude. Please let’s try and correct that behaviour as of today. That is, if we want to see God continue working wonders in our lives.
Anyway, as the Good Book continues: ‘And all the people saw him walking and praising God: and they knew that it was he which sat for alms (begging) at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
And as the lame man which was healed held (on) to Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering (amazed).’ (Acts 3:9-11)
Yes Friends, in those early days the Holy Spirit was just running riot, running amok, stirring up the people of Jerusalem! And that’s a good and positive riot and amok we’re talking about there! (smile)
Oh my brethren, how I dearly wish that the Holy Spirit could run a good and positive riot amongst us today, because in these rough and troubled times so many people need a strong hand to hold on to, so badly need something true and positive to believe in, to relieve their fears, and give them courage and sustenance to fight the battles of this evil and ungodly world.
And we know that Jesus Christ is the best, or rather the ONLY ONE who can do those things. For He is indeed the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE; the ONLY option whereby one can receive and embrace true salvation!
But unfortunately we the current believers are not doing enough and not living a good enough Christian life to cause that kind of wonder and astonishment in unbelievers.
In fact we’re doing just the opposite, living such hypocritical lives that we’re turning people off of Christianity and therefore off of Jesus Christ!
That means we’re not being very good ambassadors of Christ, else the number of unbelievers and the disdain with which many of them hold Christians and Christianity would never be as bad as it currently is. How sad my people!
And all I can do is ask us, plead with us to make the necessary changes to our lives and our behaviour, to let the Holy Spirit of Jesus that is supposed to indwell EACH and EVERYONE of us, to truly lead and guide us along the paths of truth and righteousness, so that we can correct the poor image that the world holds of us, and consequently our great Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Oh Friends, like the apostles and early Christians we definitely need to, especially in these very crucial and critical last days, portray a much better image of our faith and what it truly stands for. How else would people come to Jesus and receive salvation and everlasting life eh?
We need to reawaken the dormant and/or dying spirit of LOVE and fellowship amongst all humans, so that we can turn this angry, wicked, war mongering, resentful, greedy, envious and ungodly world around, and thus give our children and future generations a fighting chance to know Christ, and be saved from the terrible fate that awaits them otherwise.
Please my people, for the sake of those that come after us, let’s clean up our act and make the necessary amends nuh. With the help of our wonderful and most LOVING God and His Holy Spirit we can certainly do it. Please allow that heavenly wisdom to percolate through our spirits, so that we can rise to the occasion. Much LOVE!
…wake up…oh please wake up my fellow believers…and see what dire circumstances lie ahead…if we continue in our current lackadaisical mode…
P.S. Ah mih people, like the Lord’s trying to test my patience yes! The Bit was already going to be late because of my tardiness, then just as I was about to send it, the ole computer froze on me, so I had to shut it down then reboot it. Oh for the simpler times of life! (smile) Much LOVE!
26 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a leader, a witness, abundance, accept God's offer, afraid of free stuff, always working for our good, amazing offer, belt of truth, blessed eternity, breastplate of righteousness, can't come to the Father but through Jesus, caught in schemes, chutzpah, come buy and eat without money, come to the waters, come unto me, commander, covenant, deal, delight in fatness, don't have any money, eternal life, eternity, everlasting, everlasting life, example of righteousness, flocking to God, forgiveness, fountain of water, free gift of grace, get up and go, God is always with us, helmet of salvation, immortal, incline your ear, Isaiah, Jacob's Well, judgement day, loving kindness, Lucifer, magnanimity, magnificent God, mercy, milk, moan and groan, never thirst, no need to worry, on the outside looking in, pass up, poison, poisoned dart, powerful God, Praise the Lord, salvation, Samaritan woman, sandals of peace, scam, shield of faith, sounds too good to be true, sour and sombre mood, spiritual offer, suit of spiritual armour, sure mercies of David, sword of the Spirit, taken in, testimony to god's mercy, Thank the Lord, the best, the Good Book, the greatest offer ever made to man, the Life, the Truth, the Way, thirst again, we can handle whatever comes against us, who ever's thirsty, wine, wisest decision, word to the wise, words of jesus, your soul shall live
Isaiah 55:1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat: yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s in a somewhat sour and sombre mood this Wednesday morning. In fact from since last night he’s been that way. And there isn’t any good or valid reason for it, because I’m fine in all other aspects of life. But I just don’t have the chutzpah, the get up and go that I usually have.
Even stuff that usually thrills me, didn’t do so last night. I guess the mind, body and soul are either tired, or that wily Lucifer espied a little hole in my armour and sneaked in a poisoned, fiery dart.
But yuh know what mih people, we’re going to correct that right now by putting on a new suit of spiritual armour…
There, it’s done! I have on a new suit with no blemishes whatsoever! I’m fully dressed in my helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, belt of truth, sandals of peace, shield of faith, and by my side is my trusty sword of the Spirit, my Good Book!
So Lucifer won’t be able to get in again, and we’ll freeze out what little poison is left in my soul. Thank the Lord!
Yes Friends, the ole fella’s spirit is already on the rebound. Praise the Lord! And there’s really no need to ever worry, because we can handle whatever comes against us since we serve and worship a powerful and magnificent God who is always with us, working for our good.
And He declares His awesome magnanimity right here in the words of our Bit. ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat: yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.’
Oh my people, that’s one deal no human being can beat or afford to pass up!
But strangely enough, many of us are doing just that; passing up the greatest offer ever made to man! We’ll flock to some business place that claims to have a fantastic deal, although more times than not it’s a scam, but very few of us are flocking to God for this free gift of grace. How sad my brethren!
But I guess we’re all afraid of free stuff and things that sound too good to be true. However, everyday many of us are still being taken in, caught in schemes that sound way too good to be true. We plunk down our hard earned cash, only to see it disappear into the wild, blue yonder. Then we moan and groan about if we’d only known.
Steups! On the contrary friends, this offer of God is one we’ll moan and groan about, because we HAVE NOT ACCEPTED IT! For come the judgement day, there’ll be no excuses or chances to make it right. So please listen, and wisely accept God’s offer, RIGHT NOW! Believe me, it’s the wisest decision you can ever make in this life!
And moreover, it will directly affect what happens to you from the day your body returns to the dust from which it was made, right through to eternity. Now you obviously don’t want to experience anything but the BEST in eternity, and this free offer of grace, salvation and eternal life is the ONLY THING that can guarantee you a blessed eternity!
And we saw yesterday that if you accept this spiritual offer, your soul will delight in fatness, in abundance. (Is.55:2) And there’s even more to this amazing offer, as Isaiah declares: ‘ Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.’ (Is.55:3)
Oh brother, if you ever received the same kind of mercies that Bruh David received, then it means you’ll be deluged with mercy and LOVING-kindness, because that’s how the Lord treated him!
And consequently, Isaiah could declare: ‘Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.’ (Is.55:4)
The Lord also holds out Bruh David as an example to us of righteousness, as a witness, a leader, a testimony to His awesome mercy and LOVING-kindness. But we’ll never enjoy any of that abundant mercy and LOVING-kindness until we accept God’s free gifts of grace, mercy, forgiveness, salvation and eternal life.
And we’ll close with some immortal words of Jesus… Sorry, all of Jesus’ words are immortal. These particular ones come from His conversation with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well.
‘Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall NEVER thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well (fountain) of water springing up into everlasting life.’ (John 4:13-14)
Oh my brethren, that’s it right there in a nutshell! If you want to enjoy everlasting life, then you HAVE TO ACCEPT Jesus’ offer of spiritual upliftment. IT’S THE ONLY WAY!
Please remember that and act on it RIGHT NOW nuh, because we don’t know when Jesus will return, but once He does, it will be too late.
As they say, a word to the wise is sufficient, so please be wise today my brethren and make sure that you’re on the wonderful inside when Jesus returns, and not on the damned outside sorrowfully looking in. Much LOVE!
…I am the WAY…the TRUTH…and the LIFE…NO MAN cometh to the Father…BUT BY ME… (John 14:6)
29 Jan 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all things, almighty god, atonement, awesome, awesome scripture, charles stanley, Christ's sacrifice, Chtist died for the ungodly, clarifies our direction, confirms our counsel, considering, dare to die, darkness, death of Jesus, dictionary, enlarges our view of God, eternal life, eternal separation, faithfully receive, faithfulness, free gift, freely give us, friends, God's promises, God's unchanging word, God's Word, golden platter, good man, gratifying truths, greatest gift, guidance on life, Guidebook of Life, guides us to success, headache, heavenly wisdom, improves our daily lives, in due time, increases our faith, Jesus, Jesus Christ, joy in God, justified, keeps us aware of God's presence and power, light, lord jesus christ, LOVE, Love given, Love received, meditating, meditation, misguided world, onus, pondering, prophet isaiah, purifies our heart, recociled to God, recociliation, resting, righteous man, salvation, saved from wrath, scornful, shadow of death, sharpens our perception, spiel, the best therapy, the Good Book, the Holy Bible, the Life, the Light, the Truth, the Way, the way to heaven, thesaurus, troubled, truth, turn up our noses, unconditional LOVE, undeniable truth, undying LOVE, wisdom, wise and sensible, without strength, wonder
Romans 5:6. For when we were yet without strength, in due time (at the right time) Christ died for the ungodly.
Well Friends, it’s Wednesday, and unfortunately I didn’t make any real good memories yesterday. When I sit back in my rocking chair and reflect on yesterday, it will only come up as one that I spent quietly, resting and trying to get rid of the persistent headache. So there are no tales of awesome wonder to relate. (smile)
However, I did find this list of stuff that meditating on God’s Word does for us. I believe I got it from one of Uncle Charles’ (Charles Stanley) sermons. So are here are some of the ways meditation on the word helps and improves our daily lives.
‘It quietens our spirit; Purifies our heart; Sharpens our perception; Clarifies our direction; Confirms or cautions our counsel; Increases our faith; Enlarges our view of God. Keeps us aware of God’s presence and power; and finally, it Guides us to success.’
Yes Friends, meditating on the Word of God improves our earthly lives in at least those nine ways! So why aren’t we meditating more on God’s Word eh? It brings such amplification, awareness and right perspective to the human mind and life!
When we don’t know the meaning of a word, or are looking for a synonym, we check a dictionary and/ or a thesaurus, but when we’re looking for guidance on life, we either fail to or are rather reluctant to check the Guidebook of Life, the Holy Bible, God’s unchanging Word. That’s certainly not wisdom, my people.
So hopefully, now that we’ve heard some of the things that pondering on and truly considering God’s Word does for us, we’ll begin meditating on it more. For in light of what we’ve just seen, that is indeed wisdom for the ages!
And having thrown in that little spiel on meditation, let’s see what the Lord has in store for us today with our Bit, which deals with one of God’s awesome promises; reconciliation to Him. ‘For when we were yet without strength, in due time (at the right time) Christ died for the ungodly.’
And that my Friends, is one of the most amazing, important and gratifying truths in the Good Book!
Ah my fellow believers, what an incredible testimony that is to God’s unconditional and undying LOVE for us. Wow! He LOVED us so much, that even at our worst, He was prepared to give us His BEST! What a magnificent and magnanimous God we serve and worship my people!
And talking about LOVE, here’s this aside on that topic from Gordon W. Allport (1897-1967) one of the early American psychologists. He so rightly declares that: ‘LOVE received and LOVE given, provide the best therapy.’
Oh my brethren, that’s such undeniable truth! And if you don’t believe me, then check it out for yourselves. Take stock of when you’re the happiest, and you’ll undoubtedly discover that it’s when you’ve both given and received LOVE!
So since our great God gave us LOVE through Christ’s sacrifice, the onus is now on us to faithfully receive the LOVE; the salvation offered, and then walk steadfast and strong in it, all the way to heaven and eternal life!
Unfortunately though, in this troubled and misguided world, too many people seem averse, and oftimes hostile and even murderous, to receiving God’s LOVE and His free gift of salvation and eternal life! How sad my people. How sad that God’s supposed greatest creation refuses to accept His greatest gift; Jesus.
Remember, He promised way back in the time of the prophet Isaiah, to bring His chosen people out of darkness, into the light, despite their abominable disobedience and rebellion? ‘The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.’ (Is. 9:2)
Well Friends, Jesus Christ was that LIGHT; the fulfillment of that promise! So how can we not accept Him, if we want to live a wise and sensible life in everlasting LIGHT and LOVE!
Now my brethren, please check out this awesome scripture of promise, LOVE and faithfulness fulfilled. ‘For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure (perhaps) for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth (demonstrates) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, being now (having been) justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more being (having been) reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement (reconciliation).’ (Rom.4:7-11)
Oh Friends and fellow believers, what more can we ask of God eh? Nothing really! For He’s placed everything we need to get reconciled to Him, on a huge silver… no a huge golden platter for us, we just have to receive it now.
But I guess most of us scornfully turn up our noses at anything that’s free and so good. But believe me my people, this is the one and only thing in this life that seems too good to be true, but is very, very, very true!
So please, let’s get wise and stop the nonsense of living for this world’s fleeting pleasures and perishable material goods nuh, and instead, wisely, sensibly accept the faithfulness of our great and wonderful God, and joyfully receive the LIGHT and LIFE, the TRUTH and the WAY that He so magnanimously sent us; His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ!
That my brethren, is heavenly wisdom, for it is the ONLY THING that will prevent eternal separation from Almighty God! Much LOVE!
…He that spared not his own Son…but delivered him up for us all…how shall he not with him…also freely give us all things… (Rom.5:32)
23 Mar 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: antichirst, believers, blessings, constant threat, everyday occurrences, evil, false prophets, Great Tribulation, holy spirit, jesus is god, Love for Jesus, new mercies, New Testament, proactive, seek God, Spirit of God, spirituality, stressful work, the Truth, ungodly world
1 John 4:2. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is God.
And then it was Saturday! One of the two days a body can sleep in, if it so desires. However, some of us are still not that lucky because we either have to get up and look after young children, or get out and do the weekly shopping, which we’re too tired to do after a stressful work day. But please remember Friends, that whether you can sleep in or not, God’s new mercies and blessings are still showered down every day, and if we look for them, we’ll surely find them. I believe that’s possibly the biggest reason why believers don’t see God’s blessings. We hear a lot of talk about new mercies and blessings every day, but many of us are left wondering about the whereabouts of God’s riches. That brings us to one of two problems; we expect whatever God offers us to just fall directly into our laps, without any work on our part. But that’s not always the case my people. Oftimes we have to seek out, search for those blessings, cause God will not always spoon feed us with whatever we want or whatever He offers. As He says, if you seek me, you’ll find me. (Deut.4:29) That refers to everything that has to do with God. We should always be seeking Him, talking to Him, praising and thanking Him. Many times we whine about not receiving a blessing, when it’s right in front of us, if we’d only look for it. That brings us to the second problem; the size of the blessings. Many of us subconsciously think of blessings and mercies as being large in size and provide bountiful resources. But the truth is that most are small, everyday occurrences that just make our lives a tad easier, or puts a smile both in our hearts and on our faces. So it’s time to stop looking for the big prize all the time, for that makes us miss the small ones that are there everyday. The whole point is we should try to be more proactive than reactive. Let the passion and LOVE for Jesus cause us to want to know Him, to want to work diligently on His behalf. But we also need to be careful and not allow that passion to run away with us, by examining things very carefully before committing to them. It’s like our Bit. ‘Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is God.’ Yes Friends, we need to know that what we’re doing and believing is truly of God, as our Bit warns. Then John continues his exhortation: ‘And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.’ (1 John 4:3) And yuh better believe mih people that the antichrist spirit is alive and kicking throughout the world right now, more widespread and with better deceptive tools than in John’s day. And as John earlier declares: ‘I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.’ (1 John 2:21-22) Now here’s a note from the scholars on the antichrist. ‘The term antichrist refers to anyone usurping the place of Christ or opposing Christ. But the title of the Antichrist identifies a person who emerges during the Great Tribulation to lead Satan’s strategy on earth. The term is used five times in the New Testament and only by John, although the Antichrist of the Great Tribulation is identified by many other names and titles in Scripture: “that wicked” (2 Thess.2:8); “the son of perdition” (2 Thess.2:3); “the wilful king” (Dan.11:36) He is chiefly depicted in the Scriptures as an immensely powerful political leader. He apparently heads the revived Roman Empire, but will not be revealed until after the Rapture (2 Thess.2:3). He is the ultimate opponent of God, God’s plans, and God’s people. The presence of so much false teaching, John implies, reminds believers of the constant threat posed by evil to believers. Yet they need not fear; they need only be diligent and not slack.’ And the main reason believers need not be afraid is stated in John’s next verse. ‘Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.’ (1 John 4:4) And all God’s people shouted a glorious ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ because Jesus is stronger than Lucifer. The scholars note it thus: ‘Christ indwells believers; Satan is likewise the lord of his own followers. But Christ is greater than he who wreaks havoc in the world. Have overcome is in the perfect tense, stressing the abiding nature of their victory. Their strength lies in the fact that they are (born) of God.’ Now that’s sure refreshing and assuring! And John continues: ‘They are of the world; therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.’ (1 John 4:5) That’s so true! Those who bow to the spirit of the antichrist are of the world, a world which prefers the teachings of the false prophets and antichrist agents to that of God’s truth. How sad Friends. But thankfully my fellow believers, as John further declares: ‘We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.’ (1 John 4:6) And here’s how the scholars explain that verse. ‘Those who acknowledge the truth of the apostolic (New Testament) witness to Christ will recognize and conform to the teaching John is presenting. Those who do not are animated by a common and unifying spirit of error. John warns his readers against this spirit by contrasting their false views of Christ with the views that he, a personal follower and witness of Christ proclaims.’ Yeh Friends, it’s only logical that we should accept John’s proclamation, since he personally walked with Christ here on earth. In any case though my people, the important thing is that we always seek to find the truth…and not the world’s truth, but that of Jehovah God, which has the divine ability to set us free from both spiritual and physical bondage in this evil, ungodly world. So please, let’s try and make that our life’s goal, because it is wisdom at its highest level, and our diligent efforts will also be highly rewarded at the end time. Much LOVE!…the enemies of Christ seek ways to defame Him…but true believers know the truth…because of His Holy Spirit that dwells in them…
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