16 Nov 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a dream scenario, a merciful forgiving gracious God, answer our prayers, apostasy, cast all your care on Him, christianity, Covid-19, darlings of nature, denying the power, disagreement, disunity, divisiveness, drought, ever learning, false accusers, famine, forgive us, from such turn away, having a form of godliness, he cares for you, heady, heal our land, high-minded, humble ourselves, in the last days, lead captive silly women, LOVE, lovers of pleasures, mighty winds, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, myriad of problems, never able to come to, not lovers of God, pandemic, perilous times shall come, rejection of religion, religion without power, slashing rain, the knowledge of the truth, the only place where real truth exists, the word of the Lord, this know also, traitors, trucebreakers, without natural affection
2 Timothy 3:1. This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
Oh my people, let’s hope that the mighty winds and slashing rains we received up here yesterday are over and done with today yes, because those sometime darlings of nature did a fair amount of damage in the province on Sunday. A lot of people are still without power, and there’s wind-blown debris scattered all over. Hopefully not too much damage was done to homes and other buildings.
But the wind was something else yesterday oui! I could hear it raging like a wild animal outside my window, driving the now naked trees into being an unwilling partner in a forceful dance. And it would be nice if our myriad of problems could behave like that; spring up, do their damage and then settle down again. But unfortunately that’s not the case, that’s only a dream scenario. Our problems, individual and societal don’t ever seem to dissipate that easily. They appear to persist forever, despite our efforts to curtail them.
But how can we do that eh, when we have so much divisiveness, disunity and disagreement on the causes of the problems and the best way to solve them. It’s so difficult to get two people to agree on anything nowadays, much less to get a whole nation or society. The problem is we have too many choices and too many false teachers are spreading too much false doctrine. That brings us to these fateful words of Bruh Paul to Timothy re the coming apostasy – rejection of religion, in this instance, Christianity.
‘This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be LOVERS of their own selves, covetous (money LOVERS), boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers (irreconcilable), false accusers (slanderers), incontinent (without self-control), fierce (brutal), despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady (reckless), high-minded (haughty), LOVERS of pleasures, more (rather) than LOVERS of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.’ (2 Tim. 3:1-5)
Ah friends, you’d think that Bruh Paul was living down the street, because all that he said so long ago is coming true right now. Those descriptions above fit our current world to a T. So if our world is so ungodly and divisive, how can we ever live in peace and harmony eh?
And just a couple of notes from the scholars on the verses above. ‘3:1-4.The last days began with the birth of Christ, and will culminate in Christ’s return to the earth to set up His kingdom. The prediction of perilous times indicates that apostasy will characterize the final days of the church age.’ And are we ever seeing droves of people turn away from God in these times. ‘3:5-9. A form of godliness is mere religion without power or spiritual life. Paul commands Timothy to turn away from these false teachers.’
And so too should we my faithful brethren, because as Bruh Paul continues: ‘For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.’ (2 Tim. 3:6-7) And believe me, these false teachers are not only leading silly women astray, but also many silly men, for too many of us today are very susceptible to the false doctrines of false teachers. We like too much feel good religion.
And the scholars explain: ‘Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth condemns not intense study but some esoteric quest for truth apart from God’s Word.’ Again, we find a whole lot of people today searching for truth in so many different places – esoteric, exotic and what have you – but all of them lacking any real substance of truth. Oh my people, let’s wake up nuh and come to the realization that in the Word of the Lord, is the ONLY place where the real truth exists, and thus Almighty God is the ONLY One who can help us to solve our problems.
So with that in mind, let’s go to Him now nuh, and through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, lay all those problems before Him. As Peter so rightly says, let’s cast all our care upon Him, for He cares for us. (1 Pet. 5:7) So altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You that this Monday morning we’re alive and standing in faith despite the mass confusion that’s currently prevailing in our world.
We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems; the pandemic of Covid -19, the racial, political, and religious strife that’s ignited worldwide, plus the natural disasters like storms, famine, drought, plagues, climate change, wildfires, earthquakes and erupting volcanoes that suddenly seem to be blossoming more and more as time goes by.
Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously come short in obedience and compliance to Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, and You have faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us, ordinary folks, as well as our leaders, employers and medical personnel, wise guidance and direction to bring our problems under control.
And for those who are currently suffering from the many negative situations, we pray that You will ease their suffering and heal them. Father, please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again we say: Amen!’
And having said all of that, the only wise and sensible thing to do now is to sincerely turn from our evil ways, so that the Lord can heal our land. Don’t think we can fool Him with empty words nuh, because He’s not going to set anything in motion until He checks out our hearts and find that they are sincere and true! Much LOVE!
…ONLY God…through Christ Jesus…can settle, strengthen and establish us…
19 Sep 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a personal decision, accepting Christ as Lord and Saviour, all ye that labour, an indisputable fact, ask the right question, aspires to inspire us, built his house upon a rock, busyness, can't make him drink, come unto me, connect with Jesus, doeth them, easily fooled, everything can be improved, faith is the currency, fall in line, find rest for your souls, focus on being productive, for a better tomorrow, fraudulent society, gentle, gospel truth, guide and director, gullible, heavy laden, house built on the rock, house built on the sand, humble, I am meek and lowly in heart, I can do all things through Christ, I will give you rest, I will liken him unto a wise man, in Jesus economy, it's not too late, Jesus is the rock, lead a horse to water, learn from me, life is going to leave you behind, make Jesus the number one priority, makes countless thousands mourn, man's inhumanity to man, manage the cause not the result, medications, my burden is light, my yoke is easy, necessary to have Jesus, our friend Anselm, pandemic, predatory animals, run around like chickens with our heads cut off, Saturday, shrinks and charlatans, take my yoke upon you, the Good Book, the great invitation, the imperial prince of darkness, the lazy day, the most wasteful thing in the world, the perfect storm, the slave master's stringent rules, the Son of God, the word of the Lord, too busy, two foundations, whosoever heareth these sayings, worldwide strife, worry, worry is like a rocking chair
Matthew 7:24. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a (the) rock:
And then came that lazy day we call Saturday! No work! Glory be! At least no work out the street, but possibly plenty at home where we haven’t accomplished much for the last five days. What a bam-bam eh! Work for we living under the slave master’s stringent rules for five days straight, then have to come home now and do our own work. Somehow that doesn’t seem right. (smile) But that’s the way it is in our modern, busy society, and yuh better fall in line, otherwise life just going to leave yuh behind! (smile)
That’s why it’s so necessary to have Jesus Christ as the guide and director of our lives, because with Him running the show we can handle anything that comes against us with authority and power downloaded from Him. That’s why we keep saying: ‘I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!’ (Phil. 4:13) And that’s an indisputable fact! But the only way you are ever going to find out that it’s true is by actually accepting Him as your Lord and Saviour, through faith and not sight. For in Jesus’ economy, faith is the currency, not sight. End of sermon!
Now let’s see what our friend Anselm had to say this week, as he aspired to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And this first quote is indeed a dandy: ‘Worry is the most wasteful thing in the world.’ That’s also another indisputable fact! Worry creates nothing but more worry! And as Sister Joyce likes to say: ‘Worry is like a rocking chair; you can sit in it and rock all day, but get nowhere, not moved from the same spot.’ Yes friends, all worry does is ramp up our fear, anxiety and doubt, thus stealing the li’l productive energy we have left to handle our problems.
And another major thing we need to do in this mish-mash world is to ‘Focus on being productive, instead of busy.’ Yeh too many of us run around like chickens with our heads cut off, proclaiming we so busy that we don’t have time to do anything, and in the supposed busyness, we not really doing a blooming thing in true! Ever ask anybody why they not doing this or that? And the stock answer is ‘too busy.’ And when you ask what they so busy doing, they can’t tell you. It’s such a laughable situation, but one fraught with disappointment and defeat, unless we cut it out NOW.
And to help us do that, we need to learn to ‘Manage the cause, not the result.’ That means looking to the root of the problem, what caused it in the first place, and not focusing on the result, because if we don’t fix the problem, we’ll keep on getting the same wrong result every time. But that’s also another bad habit we have in our modern-day society; we look the wrong places for solutions to our problems. Like we spend a whole lot of time and money in mental therapy, when most of the time all we need is the Good Book and the Word of the Lord to get us through our tough situations.
The medications from the shrinks and charlatans ofttimes eases up one problem but causes several others, some worse than the original one. But that’s how our world operates, and if we don’t smarten up and recognize the enemy, the imperial prince of darkness hiding in some of those corners, we’re liable to end up in serious trouble. But then again, ‘If you do not know how to ask the right question, you discover nothing.’ Ah mih people; the right question eh…
Now that is ever so important in our deceitful, fraudulent society. There’s a scam in almost every situation these days, and if you don’t know the right questions to ask, you’ll most likely get the wrong answer and eventually do the wrong thing. And that’s ever so important for the older folks nowadays, because the scam artists like to prey on those they think are very gullible and easily fooled. Steups! They are worse than the predatory animals in the wild!
That’s why the saying, ‘man’s inhumanity to man makes thousands mourn,’ is so true and heartbreaking. We think nothing these days of bilking an older person out of their entire life savings; in fact bilking anybody out of their possessions is fair game this meeting! But yuh know what my brethren? I’m here to tell you with this last quote that ‘Everything can be improved.’ And that’s the gospel truth! But you definitely need to connect with Jesus; to make him the Number One Priority in your life if you desire to see improvements in any or all areas of it.
And if you don’t believe me, then listen to these awesome words of Jesus as He speaks about the two foundations on which life can be built. ‘Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a (the) rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a (the) rock.’ (Matt.7:24-25)
Ah precious people, Jesus is that rock upon which we need to build our lives, so that when the storms come, like they are coming right now, our houses, our souls and spirits will stand strong and be able to fight them off! Yes, we desperately need the sure foundation that’s Jesus if we desire to thwart the enemy and overcome the storms of life!
Now listen to the other side of the equation as expounded by Jesus. ‘And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.’ (Matt. 7:26-27)
Oh my people, my people, those are words of everlasting truth from the Son of God Himself! And if we can’t accept them as such, then there’s little or no hope for us. Note the simplicity and clarity of Jesus’ teaching. He talks about things we can easily understand. It’s obvious that if we build a house on sand it won’t stand up as well as one built on a strong foundation of rock when the elements come against it. And right now we have the perfect storm of a pandemic and worldwide strife that’s showing what kind of foundation our lives have been built on.
Unfortunately, we’re seeing that too many of them have been built on the insecure and unsafe one of sand, that’s why there’s so much fear, doubt and panic at this time of crisis. But it’s not too late friends…with Jesus it’s never too late to accept His wonderful invitation: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:28-30)
That friends, says it all! Accept Jesus…and your lives will improve… Don’t accept Him…and they will only get worse…The decision is up to you. But you have to make it soon…preferably RIGHT NOW! Much LOVE!
…you can lead a horse to water…but you can’t make him drink…likewise…you can be led to Jesus…but no one can make you accept Him…it’s a personal decision…
08 Sep 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a big crowd of people, a man of understanding, a wise man will hear, an act of homage, any length of time, ask in faith, ask of God, beg for candy, bring thee to honour, Brooklyn New York, chutney soca, cold weather months, constitutional rights, dark world costumes, devil oriented, don'thave to worry, don't have to hurry, double minded society, driven with wind and tossed, drumming in the children's ears, Eastern Parkway, eating sugary stuff, exalt her, flimsy masks, foibles, freedom of choice, get understanding, go to God in absolute faith, goblin, Halloween celebrations, he will increase in learning, hear the truth, I am the beloved of god, idiosyncrasies, in god's eyes, in gospel fashion, kiss the son, Labour Day, lack wisdom, leads us astray, like a wave of the sea, man's wisdom, negativity, not a blanket promise, not wavering, not what I do, not what I have, not what people say about me, nothing but the truth, playing mas, promote thee, rejoice with trembling, serious business, serve he Lord with fear, shall attain unto wise counsels, share His love with the world, shows us the right way, sincere interaction with God, spend a setta money, submission, summer holdays, the Lord's mysterious movement, the ole fella's soul is fired up, the principal thing, the rear end, the reason for his trials, the straight and narrow path, the virus, the word of the Lord, to run every which way but gone, true wisdom, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, what a crazy world we live in, who gives liberally, wisdom, wisdom to endure trials, witch tinged
Proverbs 1:5. A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto (inquire of) wise counsels.
Prologue: Yes, we late, but that is okay, because the ole fella soul’s fired up! Yes! A friend, no doubt through the Lord’s mysterious movement, just sent me a remix of an old time chutney soca song, one of my favourites, in Gospel fashion…and people it was so sweet, I just had to listen to it a couple times, although we was done late, before I could start writing the Bit. So just bear with the ole fella nuh, put up li’l bit with his foibles and idiosyncrasies. (smile) So here we go:
Well Labour Day done now mih people! That means all the summer holidays and them finish too. It’s only the business of the cold weather months to look forward to now. And talking about that, the other day I read somewhere about where somebody was asking this rather interesting question: Are there going to be any Halloween celebrations this year? Well that’s a mighty good question!
And although the answer should be a most decisive ‘NO!’ with the serious virus problem we have, I’d venture to say that yuh going to see foolish parents either venture out in the dark night with their children, or send them out to beg for candy and other sweet treats, then forbid them to eat it, and they hide and eat it anyway. The whole blooming witch tinged; devil-oriented thing should be banned in the first place! It’s just a dentist’s dream! They salivate about future work when they hear talk about Halloween!
What a foolish and double-minded society we are eh! We keep drumming in the poor children’s ears the negativity involved in eating a lot of sugary stuff, then spend a setta money to dress them up in goblin and other dark world costumes and then send them out in the night to beg for sweet stuff. Hn! And they vex to boot if you don’t have none to give them! Steups!
Yeh friends, just like yesterday, where it apparently had people out on the Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, New York, playing mas… or rather playing the…the yuh know what – the rear end! Yes, in the same New York where the Corona virus itself was just recently making mas amongst the population! Ah Lord eh! And just so it going to have people going out for Halloween. Ah wonder though if they going to have on masks like some of the people on the Parkway yesterday eh?
But then ah wonder too, if them flimsy mask could withstand the heat and the sweat and the jumping up and shoving and pulling for any length of time, especially in a big crowd of people jam up close together with everybody shouting and singing? Remember it only takes one mask to drop down, one person to talk or exhale, and one person to inhale for the virus to run every which way but gone!
Like they recently had some wedding in Maine, in the U.S, and like somebody who had the virus was there, everybody was mask-less most likely, and they eventually traced that it spread to some six or seven other places just from that one wedding. It included a nursing home, a jail, even the pastor who officiated at the wedding, fool that he was, caught it and took it back to his own congregation. What a crazy world we live in eh Doctor Jack!
But what the ole fella know eh? Not a blooming thing! He just like to bat him gums and talk… (smile) So leh we stop him from talking now nuh, and just hear the truth, and nothing but the truth – the Word of the Lord! And though ah chuckling here friends, this whole thing is serious business, but we, with we carnival and free for all mentality not taking it seriously at all. We not seeing how easy it is for the virus to spread and that all the places who escaped it early on because of the quick lockdown, now getting it when they open back up too fast and don’t obey the safety practices.
Chuh! We more concerned about we freedom of choice, we constitutional rights and all them rights we supposedly have…but not caring enough about the most fundamental one – the right to end in the grave if we not wise. Please, please, my fellow saints in Christ, let us remember the wise words of Cousin Sol nuh. ‘Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to (place on) thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.’ (Prov. 4:7-9)
And remember where wisdom comes from? James tells us: ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (without reproach). But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (without doubting). For he that wavereth (doubts) is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.’ (James 1:5-6) So to obtain wisdom we have to go to God in absolute trust and faith.
But here’s this interesting explanation from the scholars. ‘1:5. This verse is not a blanket promise of wisdom for any situation. In the context of life’s trials, it probably speaks of the believer being granted (1) wisdom as to the reason for his trials and (2) wisdom to endure them.’ But anyhow yuh take it friends, wisdom is of God! You can’t get it unless you have some sincere interaction with Him.
And as Cousin Sol reiterates: ‘A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto (inquire of) wise counsels.’ (Prov. 1:5) Yes, wisdom begins with an attitude that is willing to hear, and then learn from what one hears. And it all begins with God: hearing His Word and being obedient to it.
As the psalmist so wisely advises in Psalm 2 – Why do the heathen rage – ‘Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear (reverence) and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son ( an act of homage and submission), lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.’ (Ps. 2:10-12)
And right there is where I believe we have fallen down my brethren: the majority of us haven’t served the Lord; haven’t submitted ourselves completely to Him and paid Him the homage He’s due, thus He’s angry. So the number one answer to our problems is to reverse that unwise decision and come before Him with sincere homage and thanksgiving. And for those of us who are trying to walk that straight and narrow road that leads to Christ and eternal life, let’s go home now declaring (yeahhh!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are.
In strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
So what we waiting for eh? Let’s start sharing that marvellous LOVE and friendship right now nuh! Much LOVE!
…man’s supposed wisdom leads us astray…but true wisdom from God…shows us the right way…
29 Jul 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a golden candlestick, a rushing mighty wind, a sacrificial lamb to the slaughter, an abundant supply of God's Spirit, another comforter, began to speak in tongues, believe and obey, beyond comprehension, beyond expectation, boggles my mind, bring all things to your remembrance, but by mu Spirit, cloven tongues, dangerous times, Day of Pentecost, don't have time to enjoy, endure to the end, filled with the Holy Ghost, fruits of our labour, greetings, halfway home, hands on the plough, he dwelleth in you, hello there, his righteousness, I AM, I want to run hide escape, in 52 days, informative, it shall come to pass, it startles me, Jehovah, like of fire, LOVE, loves unconditionally, magnificent and magnanimous God, mih lovelies, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, Nehemiah, nor by power, not by might, not turning back, One Year Book of Bible promises, pandemic, peace, penetrate every fibre of me, pour our my spirit, reassuring, rebuilding the temple, rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, reward me, run behind the things of the world, Ruth Harms Calkin, saith the Lord of hosts, salutations, seek first his kingdom, strife, stupidity, teach you all things, the breath of life, the only way to live, the prophet Zecahriah, the Spirit of truth, the Task, the word of the Lord, the work of god, to a glorious future with Jesus, to follow jesus, two olive trees, unto Zerubbabel, upon all flesh, uppermost in our minds, we can ask or imagine, Wednesday Wail, Yahweh, You invade and permeate me, young men shall see visions, your own magnificent power
Zechariah 4:6. Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
Well hello there mih lovelies! Greetings and salutations! It’s so good to come to you again in fellowship with LOVE and peace in Christ uppermost in our minds and souls! It means that the Lord has granted us another day to do His work down here on earth, to complete the plan He’s ordained since the beginning of time for our lives. And this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin admirably describes how our heavenly Father works in our lives when we are obedient to His will. It’s simply titled ‘The Task.’
Please pray with me: ‘Lord you give me a task So utterly impossible So totally beyond comprehension – The very thought of it Startles me. I want to run hide escape Anything, Lord. Then you electrify me You invade and permeate me You penetrate every fibre of me Until the task is accomplished By Your own magnificent power. Then You praise the performance Your creativity achieved And You reward me beyond expectation – As though I had done it All by myself. My Father.’
Now how wonderful is that eh? I’d say, most wonderful! (smile) That’s why I keep telling us about the magnificent and magnanimous God we serve. No other supposed deity would ever do such a thing; give you a tough task, then help you do it, then give you credit for it when it was done strictly under His watchful eye and mighty power! But that’s how the great God; Jehovah, Yahweh, I Am, whatever you choose to call him, operates! And that’s why I also can’t understand why we don’t live in greater obedience to Him, but foolishly prefer to run behind the things of the world.
And our stupidity just boggles my mind, because He’s most faithfully promised that if we seek first his kingdom and His righteousness that all those worldly things we need…and much more too, will be given to us! Our problem is that we’re proud and greedy and impatient. We want it all, and right now, so we kill ourselves working for it, and sadly end up with no time to truly enjoy the worldly fruits of our labour. Now does that make sense my brethren? Obviously not!
And even in these dangerous times of pandemic and strife, it’s still the worldly things for which we’re hungering, instead of being peaceful and calm and using this imposed time to come closer to our God, the One who LOVES unconditionally, and so much that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to die, to be led like a sacrificial lamb to the slaughter, so that our sins could be paid for by His sinless blood. And yet still…we refuse to believe and obey… Ah mih people, I don’t know what else to say nuh to get us to truly embrace our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and to do His works down here on earth as He so greatly desires.
So let’s turn back to our poem and the Bible verse to which it’s associated. It’s a promise of our God to the prophet Zechariah, re His doing of difficult or seemingly impossible things. In a vision the prophet saw a golden candlestick and two olive trees and did not understand their meaning. The angel of the Lord told Zechariah. ‘This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.’ (Zech. 4:6) Oh friends, what a most wonderful promise!
And the scholars offer this explanation. ‘4:1-14. The fifth vision, the golden candlestick and the two olive trees: The work of God (the rebuilding of the temple) would be accomplished through God’s leaders, Joshua and Zerubbabel, who would be enabled to perform their tasks by the Spirit of God….’ Ah mih people, that was not the first time that the Lord had used His Spirit to enable His followers to perform His work. How do you think that Nehemiah was able to rustle together the remnants in Jerusalem and rebuild the walls of the city in only fifty two days eh? (Neh. 6:15) It was through the Spirit of the Lord!
And it’s a promise that the Lord made several times in the Old Testament. Hear Him to the prophet Hosea with his unfaithful wife. ‘But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.’ (Hos. 1:7) And then to the prophet Joel, our great God proclaimed: ‘And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also upon the (men) servants and the handmaids (maidservants) in those days will I pour out my spirit.’ (Joel 2:28-29)
Oh what a marvellous promise! And we’ll go back to the scholar’s explanation of Zechariah’s vision. ‘…The vision indicates that future Israel will be a blessing to all the nations of the world through an abundant supply of the Spirit of God as the result of the coming of the Messiah, who will unite the offices of priest and king in Himself.’
And yes, that’s exactly what happened when Jesus came, and when He promised the coming of the Comforter. ‘And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you’ (John 14:16-17)
And furthermore, Jesus reassured them.. and us: ‘But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.’ (John 14:26) Ah my fellow saints in Christ, how beautiful is our Lord and Saviour eh! And it happened exactly as promised on the day of Pentecost, some fifty days after Jesus ascended to heaven, after telling them to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father. (Acts. 1:4)
They were all in one place, with the same purpose in mind. ‘And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven (divided) tongues like of fire, and sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak in tongues, as the spirit gave them utterance.’ (Acts 2:2-4)
Oh mih people, yuh think we God easy nuh! Not at all! He likes to show off His awesome power on behalf of His people, and since that momentous day of Pentecost, His Holy Spirit has dwelt within every believer, leading and guiding, comforting and renewing and helping us to live this earthly life in godly fashion! Wow! What more can we ask for eh? Not much! So let’s go home now declaring (yeahhh!) our Wednesday Wail letting the world know of our awesome position in Christ Jesus!
All together now, 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 we know for sure that if we hold our positions, endure to the end, then that promise will be kept, even more gloriously than we can ask or imagine! Much LOVE!
…to sincerely follow Jesus…that’s the ONLY way to live…
P.S. Yes, it’s somewhat long…but oh so informative and reassuring! (smile) Much LOVE!
18 Apr 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: advancing toward what will be, Apollos, bankruptcy, better versed, carnal, complaining, Covid-19 fallout, different gifts, dissatisfaction, don't compare your progress, earthly living, enjoy his largesse, envy, exercise body mind and spirit, fleshly, for good or evil, Friend Anselm, frustration, get into the Good Book, God that giveth the increase, God's blueprint, gospel truth, greed, hard-hearted rebellion, idle time on our hands, inactivity, jealousy, lack of knowing, little by little becomes a lot, live the high life, make progress, MC Hammer, members of one body; Christ, need our own time, neither he that watereth, neither is he that planteth anything, not in enhancing what is, one one cocoa full basket, opportunity, planted, progress, put aside for a rainy day, resentment, ride in the limo, riding high, sinful disobedience, standing on the sidelines, stay as active as possible, stubborn, take a little and litve long, take the bus, the Lord's plan for our lives, the measure of faith, the new normal, the rich and famous, the word of the Lord, think of himself more highly, think soberly, to travel our own distance, voraciously devour the Word, watered, whimpering, working their tails off
1 Corinthians 3:7. So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
Well the days pass by as quickly as ever, although they seem to be taking their own sweet time, what with the huge amount of inactivity so many are undergoing through the Covid-19 fallout. But friends, if we want to make it through this disastrous situation successfully, we have to try and stay as active as possible within the narrow means that are currently available to us. That’s exercise body, mind and spirit! And you can’t use that age old excuse that you’re busy and have no time, (smile) for if it’s one thing most of us have right now is lots of idle time on our hands.
That means we also have the magnificent opportunity to get into the Good Book and voraciously devour the Word of the Lord! Glory be mih people! Yes, getting into the marvellous Word of our great God, should be our number one priority in these idle times, so that when our world returns to whatever the new normal will be, we will all be much better versed in it, and thus better able to live it! Wow!
Friends, most of us will never have a better opportunity to learn the Word than right now, so please, let’s not waste it, since our lack of knowing, and thus implementing the Word is probably what has brought us to our current situation. Read that as stubborn, hard-hearted rebellion and an abundance of sinful disobedience against the Lord of the universe!
Anyway, it’s Saturday, so let’s get into those quotes that our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And he did have some very interesting ones this week, focussing on what we term progress. But listen to this first one – I just LOVE it. ‘Little by little becomes a lot.’ And isn’t that the awesome truth! As my Jamaican people would say; ‘one one cocoa full basket.’
Yes friends, simple consistency and satisfaction with a small amount is rather important in our lives. Or as we’d say further down south: ‘Take a li’l and live long!’ And that’s a major problem with our society these days; a lack of patience and overarching greed, wanting whatever we want right now in profusion. That’s also why we have to start saving from early, always putting aside a little for the rainy day that’s bound to come!
And this one, I can certainly testify to it’s truth: ‘Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.’ Oh isn’t that the awesome truth my people! I’ve experienced it some in my own life. When you’re riding high, everyone wants to be your friend, but when the chips all fall down, there’s never anyone around to help you look for them. Those are what we call ‘fair-weather friends.’
And for some reason, when that talk comes up, I always remember MC Hammer (Rick Stanley Burrell) the American rap artiste and dancer. He spoke to that situation. When he was popular and riding high, there were numerous so-called friends around to enjoy his largesse, but by the time he hit bankruptcy, none of those bodies could be found. So friends, please take note; look for those people who are willing to ride the bus with you, when the limo breaks down, or you can no longer afford it.
Now hear this: ‘Progress is not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be.’ And there is some truth in that, for enhancing what we have is not always the best way to go. We need to keep our eyes steadfastly fixed on where we want to go, where it would be most beneficial for us to go, and work towards that. Just doing better in the area we’re currently in is not necessarily progress, especially if the Lord has a better and/or different plan for our lives. And that, my brethren, needs to be our number one consideration; the Lord’s plan for our earthly lives, for from that, all else ought to flow.
And that thought segues ever so smoothly into this one: ‘You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining.’ That’s the gospel truth! But if it wasn’t…then our world would be ever so progressive since this generation has made whimpering and complaining a lifestyle of the first order! Steups! Nobody wants to put up with a li’l discomfort, or do a li’l bit of hard work, but everybody wants to live the high life; that associated with the rich and famous.
But friends, here’s a li’l secret that we all ought to know; the initial rich and famous didn’t get rich and famous by whimpering and complaining, but by working their tails off, be it for good or evil! Yes, some of their descendants might have come into their fame and fortune rather easily because of their forefathers, but here’s another li’l gem, none of them will keep it if somebody doesn’t put some blood sweat and tears into doing so! And consequently, this quote is also rather true and wise. ‘Don’t compare your progress to that of others. We need our own time to travel our own distance.’
Yeh mih bredrin, just like the Lord has different plans for different people, the time we need to accomplish them also differ. And the worst thing we can ever do is compare our plan and what it entails with that of someone else, because all that does is breed frustration, jealousy, envy, dissatisfaction and resentment in our hearts, especially if the other somebody seems to be more progressive and successful than we are. Listen to Bruh Paul as he warned the church at Rome and us:
‘For I say, through the grace given unto me. To every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office (function): So we being many, are one body in Christ, and every one (individually) members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching…’ (Rom. 12:3-6)
Yes my fellow believers, we all have different gifts to do different things in the Lord’s cause, but they don’t all have the same result, or take the same time, but we are all members of one body, Christ, so we must not be contentious and jealous, think of ourselves too highly or lowly, just know that we will be well rewarded for whatever Christ has us to do if we do it selflessly and sacrificially,.
Bruh Paul also touched on the subject in his first letter to the Corinthians: ‘For ye are yet carnal (fleshly, worldly): for whereas there is among you envying and strife , and divisions (dissensions), are ye not carnal, and walk as men (according to man)? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.’ (1 Cor. 3:3-7)
So my faithful brethren, please, please, let’s stop complaining and whining and comparing ourselves to each other nuh, for if we truly believe that our God is wise, then all the parts He’s made will fit nicely and smoothly together in one plan, if we sincerely follow His blueprint; His Word. Much LOVE!
…the Lord’s blueprint for earthly living is perfect…we just need to follow it sincerely…
01 Apr 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a catalyst, a state of panic, All Fool's Day, April Fool's day, be attentive, calamitous times, Corona Beer, Coronavirus, damnation, day and night, depart out of thy mouth, disatrous times, do according to all that's written therein, eyes fixed straight ahead, fales information, forgiveness, glad to be alive, God's standard, halfway home, hands on the plough, have good success, hellfire, Higher Power, hope, I wait for the Lord, in his word do I hope, iniquities, let thine ears, Lord hear my voice, loving kindness, make thy way prosperous, mark iniquities, meditate on it, mercy, misdirection, my soul doth wait, not looking back, outright lies, perseverance, prayer, procision for our iniquities, redeem israel, redemption, righteousness., Scrip-Bits, social media, stay strong in the word, supplication, thanskgiving, the breath of life, the fountainhead of hope, the nature of the human animal, the word of the Lord, this book of the law, to a glorious future with Jesus, to the voice of my supplications, urgent needs, Wednesday Wail, who shall stand
Psalm 130:5. I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
Moving right along…It’s April 1, 2020 – April Fools Day, or as we know it down South- All Fools Day! A day for jokes and hijinks. But not today. No! Please, not this day in the year of 2020! This is a time for very serious behaviour, although we do need some levity in our spirits and souls if we don’t want to go crazy. However, we already have so much false info and misdirection and outright lies in our society, mostly funneled through social media, we definitely don’t want to introduce anymore today, when half the world is locked down and in a state of panic because of the Coronavirus.
And on a point of interest, in Canada it seems that people are still drinking Corona beer, whilst it’s unavailable in some other places. That just shows how ignorant and/or superstitious we humans are. Just because the brand of beer happens to have the same name as a deadly virus doesn’t mean that it’s undrinkable or in any way connected to it. But that’s the nature of the human animal. (smile) And as always friends, we here at Scrip-Bits believe in acting as catalysts, to help us stay strong in the Word of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to give us hope, help us stay imprisoned by it, because without hope, we might as well be dead; in fact without hope, spiritually, we are indeed dead.
So today, let’s latch on tightly to the hope infusing words of Psalm 130 – My soul waiteth for the Lord. Yes my brethren, the Lord and His awesome and everlasting Word, which never changes or dies, is indeed the fountainhead of hope! And right now in these scary and frightening times, we need divine hope and help more than ever. So let’s pray with the psalmist nuh: ‘Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. Lord hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark (take note of) iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?’ (Ps. 130:1-3)
Now that’s a very good question my people. If the Lord should take note of all our iniquities and punish us for them, who shall stand afterwards eh? None of us! ‘For all have sinned and come (fallen) short of the glory of God.’ (Rom. 3:23) Oh yes, we’ve fallen far short of God’s righteousness, as the scholars explain: ‘3:23. For all have sinned: The human need and the divine provision are alike applied universally. Come short of the glory of God: man can exceed his own standards, but never, left to himself, can he attain to God’s standard of righteousness.’
And nobody knows this better than our Creator, who made us with all our faults and frailties, and that’s why in His eternal wisdom and divine mercy and LOVING-kindness, He’s made ample provision for our iniquities. As the psalmist continues: ‘But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared (held in reverential awe).’ (Ps. 130:4) Oh friends, how mighty and wonderful is the word ‘forgiveness’ and all that it implies! For without it, we would have no hope at all. That’s the divine option that gives us hope! All the other things like LOVE, mercy, and grace are indeed important, but without forgiveness we’d still be in the same khaki pants; lost and doomed to damnation and hell-fire!
And how do we access these essential things called hope and forgiveness. It begins, like the psalmist says: ‘I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.’ Now that’s the first movement in the divine symphony; patience (perseverance) and trust in His Word. But how do we get patience and trust in God’s word eh? By knowing it; hearing it, reading and studying it. Remember the immortal words of God to Joshua when He appointed him leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses.
‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (be constantly in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’ (Josh. 1:8) The Lord couldn’t have been any plainer or more explicit than that my people. It’s by reading and studying His Word and doing what’s written in there that we can achieve prosperous and successful lives! So in these uncertain and disastrous times, it’s plain to see that we have to get into God’s Word more than ever, and do what it says we ought to.
As the psalmist continues: ‘My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.’ (Ps. 130:6) Yes friends, he is hungry for the Lord! And that’s how we have to be also, especially in these calamitous times, for the Lord God Almighty, the One who created us, is the ONLY One who can truly save us! Thus the psalmist concludes: ‘Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy (LOVING-kindness), and with him is plenteous (abundant) redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.’ (Ps. 130:7-8)
Oh my fellow believers, it is imperative that we turn to the Lord God Jehovah and cry out to Him for deliverance if we truly want to get rid of this Covid-19 scourge that’s currently plaguing the earth. Remember, as the scholars said above, in his own strength, man can never achieve the righteousness of God, and that also extends to his wisdom and ingenuity. Therefore, since we can’t find the answer to our problem, we need to go to a Higher Power; the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! That’s where we will find ALL the answers!
And now, for those of us who truly believe that and sincerely try to adhere God’s Word, let’s go home joyfully declaring (yeahhh!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our enviable position in Christ Jesus. 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 yes, my faithful brethren, regardless of what’s happening in our world today, we who sincerely believe and try to do God’s Will, will indeed have a glorious future with Jesus; one, more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine! Much LOVE!
…prayer and supplication…perseverance and thanksgiving…our most urgent needs at this time…
08 Feb 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a guidebook, a touchy subject, aspires to inspire, be not afraid, be strong, Book of the Law, daily traffic problems, day and night, depart out of thy mouth, do all that's written therein, for a better tomorrow, goes with you everywhere, gospel truth, have good success, hypocrites, infallibility, lasting success, leadership, life is really simple, make thy way prosperous, meditate therein, mental incompetence, of a good courage, our friend Anselm, social stigma, sunny Saturday morning, the Lord your God, the Lord's plan, the word of the Lord, to successful earthly living, unfriendly attitudes, we make it complicated, what other people think, what we are, winter
Joshua 1:8. This book of the law shall not depart out of (be constantly in) your mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for them thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Welcome to a bright and sunny Saturday morning friends! It’s somewhat on the chilly side though, and the banks are full of snow. But that’s to be expected since it’s winter in the northern climes. And I guess a lot of us are sleeping in this morning after a tiring week of labour…and some of us might say not of labour but of navigating the daily traffic problems, especially with the snowfall we’ve had this past week.
Yes, there are just too many cars on the roads especially during the morning and afternoon commutes. But you wouldn’t like to see the amount of cars that are parked in the train station lots; several thousands. When I travel on the train and see them sitting in the parking lots, I can just imagine the chaos and traffic problems we’d have if they all hit the road morning and evening too.
Phew! But today is Saturday, we don’t have to contend with work and traffic, so instead, let’s focus on the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week nuh, as he sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And I like this first one: ‘Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.’ And is that ever so true! Possibly because of our high level of intelligence, we seem to think that unless something is complicated it’s no good. Thus we introduce stuff into stuff that’s not necessary.
Think about all the rules and regulations we have in life…I’m sure we could do without half of them if we were only better neighbours and friends, and could be depended upon to do the right thing at least 8 out of 10 times. But because we aren’t, provision has to be made for our ‘unneighbourly’ and unfriendly attitudes. (smile) So for each rule we introduce, there must be several provisos to explain and counteract it. Steups!
This next quote is also of mucho importance: ‘What we really are matters more than what other people think of us.’ Now that’s gospel truth! But sadly too many of us don’t understand or believe it, and thus allow what others think of us to control and ofttimes spoil our lives. We give it names like social pressure or social stigma, doing what the supposedly higher ups, or our social betters want or expect us to do. Chuh!
Oh friends, please have faith in yourselves and your God! He made you to be who you are, in His image, with His plan for your life, not for another human’s! And the usual corollary to situations like those is that the ones who are so critical of others, are worse than those they criticize, do worse than them in the same circumstances. In other words they are just a bunch of blooming hypocrites!
Thank the Lord I learned that at a tender age from watching people criticize my mother, then discovering they were a whole lot worse than her! Friends, please don’t live your lives because of what others say or do. The Lord has a plan for you, find out what it is, and then live accordingly.
Then there’s this interesting quote: ‘The topic of leadership is a touchy one. A lot of leaders fail because they don’t have the bravery to touch that nerve or strike that chord. Throughout my years, I haven’t had that fear.’ Good for our friend Anselm if he’s referring to himself! (smile) But that’s basically true because leaders are the ones who take us usually where we’ve never gone before, and to do that they must have a special something, call it bravery, common sense, wisdom, a dream, a vision, or all of them.
Now it could even include stupidity or mental incompetence, which means leading their followers astray. Think about all the sects that have populated our world because of such leaders. But what makes a leader -good or bad – is that belief in themselves, that feeling of infallibility, which causes others to even give their lives in their service. And this next quote doesn’t only pertain to leaders but to all of us. ‘If you’re afraid to fail, then you’re probably going to fail.’
Yes my people, the active ingredient in our mind and spirit is the one we usually bring forth. So if fear is the dominant attitude, then most likely we will bring forth failure. That’s not to say that we won’t or can’t fail if we think success. The difference though is the amount of energy and faith we put into our projects when we think positively and of success, as compared to the negative side of failure.
And this last quote says it all: ‘Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.’ Glory be mih people! You won’t ever be successful unless you make the necessary preparations for it! That’s because success doesn’t come without certain preparations, like thinking positively about it and putting in the necessary hard work it calls for. And I guess the best advice I can give on the subject is found in the words of the Lord God Himself to his servant Joshua when He appointed him leader of the Israelites.
‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (be constantly in) your mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for them thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’
Oh my fellow believers it couldn’t get any more straightforward and plain than that! Meditating on the Lord’s Word and following it, is what brings true, real and lasting success. Supposed success gained by any other method is ephemeral and not lasting. And our God is such a wonderful Leader and encourager, I just LOVE His next words to Joshua. ‘Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.’ (Josh.1:9)
Yes friends, those same words of the Lord echo down to us today as we face the difficulties and calamities of this troubled world. That was the third time in four verses that He was reminding Joshua to be strong and courageous because his omnipotent, merciful, LOVING and gracious God would go with him wherever he went. Let’s accept that most encouraging and reassuring message to day like Joshua did back then nuh my brethren, and go out and do the work the Lord’s prescribed for us, the same way Joshua went forward with bravery and courage and did his duty. Much LOVE!
…the Word of the Lord…it’s the guidebook to….successful earthly living…
21 Jul 2019
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: a flame of fire, a joyful jurney, a name written, a temple of praise, Alpha, clothed in fine linen, confidence, dipped in blood, dry bones, faithful and true, fellowship, hath on his vesture, hear his holy word, His spoken word, judgement, King of Kings, labourers in your vineyard, lift up your heads, living God, Lord of Lords, most important day, no God like Jehovah, Omega, on his thigh, out of Zion's hill, praise and worship, prepare ye the way, righteousness., robe, Robin Mark, rod of iron, saints of Christ, salvation, Selah, shining like the sun, show our gratitude, smite the nations, soften our hearts, the Days of Elijah, the first, the Good Book, the house of the Lord, the king of glory, the last, the Lord of hosts, the Lord's Day, the raptured church, the trumpet call, the word of the Lord, the year of jubilee, universal sovereignty, vitality, winepress
Revelation 19:16 And he hath on his vesture (robe) and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
That day friends, the most important day of the week, the Lord’s Day, Sunday, it’s here! And we all know what that means: a joyful journey to the house of the Lord to praise and worship Him, to fellowship with other believers, to hear His Holy Word, and be refreshed and renewed with His strength, confidence and vitality to keep on fighting the good fight in which we’re engaged. And as always, we begin the day’s proceedings with a song of praise and thanksgiving, both to show our gratitude and to soften up our hard hearts, so we can receive His Word with more effectiveness.
And today’s song is the well known and popular one titled ‘The Days of Elijah. (No God Like Jehovah).’ It was supposedly written by one ‘Robin Mark a Northern Irish Christian singer, songwriter, worship leader, and recording artist based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Mark has written several songs sung throughout the world. He is best known for his songs “Days of Elijah”, “Revival”, “All for Jesus”, “The Wonder of The Cross”, “Not by Might”’ So let’s get into those Days of Elijah nuh, in a rocking, up-tempo, yet with a soulful feeling.
All together now: ‘These are the days of Elijah, Declaring the word of the Lord And these are the days of Your servant Moses, Righteousness being restored. And though these are days of great trial, Of famine and darkness and sword, Still, we are the voice in the desert crying “Prepare ye the way of the Lord!” (Chorus: Behold He comes riding on the clouds, Shining like the sun at the trumpet call, Lift your voice, it’s the year of jubilee, And out of Zion’s hill salvation comes.)
These are the days of Ezekiel, The dry bones becoming as flesh, And these are the days of Your servant David, Rebuilding a temple of praise. These are the days of the harvest, The fields are as white in Your world, And we are the labourers in Your vineyard, Declaring the word of the Lord! (Chorus: Behold He comes riding on the clouds, Shining like the sun at the trumpet call, Lift your voice, it’s the year of jubilee, And out of Zion’s hill salvation comes.
Oh, there’s no God like Jehovah, there’s no God like Jehovah; Yes there’s no God like Jehovah; there’s no God like Jehovah; there’s no God like Jehovah! Believe me, There’s no God like Jehovah; There’s no God like Jehovah! (Chorus: Behold He comes riding on the clouds, Shining like the sun at the trumpet call, Lift your voice, it’s the year of jubilee, And out of Zion’s hill salvation comes. (Repeat)’
What a rocking tune, filled with loads of truth! And we certainly did it justice! All heaven was rocking along with us! Wow! When you can get heaven to rock with you, you must be singing good! (smile) Ah mih people, though our world is in a sad and miserable state, filled with all kinds of disasters, poverty, sickness, strife and dissension, of great trials, we’re still hear declaring (steups!) the Word of the Lord. And we’re gladly looking forward to the next coming of Jesus, hearing that heavenly trump sound the good news, and see Him coming in the clouds on His magnificent white steed… ‘shining like the sun!’ What a wonderful day that will be!
And John, the Revelator saw it all in his vision. ‘And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed in a vesture (robe) dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture (robe) and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.’ (Rev.19:11-16).
Yes friends, that’s how it’s going to be when Christ comes back for the last time to rule with and iron fist for one thousand years! And just a few explanations from the scholars. ‘19:14-16. The armies may be (1) angels (cf. Zech.14:5; Matt.26:53); (2) the raptured church or (3) all the inhabitants of heavenly Jerusalem: angels, the church, and spirits of the Old Testament and Tribulation saints (cf. Heb.12:22-24) They will share in Christ’s victory and glory (cf. Rom.8:18-19). The linen symbolizes righteousness (cf. v.8). The sword from His mouth depicts judgement through His spoken Word (cf.1:16; 2:12, 16; Is. 11:4; 2 Thess. 2:8).
Smite the nations: Christ will destroy all unbelievers (cf. 19:21; Matt.25:41, 46; 2 Thess.1:8-9). Rod of iron: Christ will subject all nations to Himself, and destroy all His enemies (cf. Ps.2:8-9; 1 Cor.15:24-25). Winepress: See 14:17-20. Words relating to wrath and anger are found 15 times in Revelation. KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS: Christ has universal sovereignty. He is King over all who call themselves kings, and Lord over all who call themselves lords (cf.17:14; Deut.10:17. Dan.2:47; 1 Tim.6:15).’
Ah friends, lots of explanations and scriptures for you to check out. (smile) But I thought it important to give you the info so that you will be better able to understand what the Good Book is talking about. And that’s the magnificent ending we have to look forward to once we stand strong and endure the race. So please, let’s all remember, and write it indelibly in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, that there’s No God like our Jehovah!
As Bruh David said so long ago: ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods (rivers)…So Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah.’ (Ps.24:1-2; 9-10). That says it all! So please have a blessed Sunday my fellow saints in Christ, as you ponder and ruminate on all that we’ve said! (smile) Much LOVE!
…JEHOVAH…the One, True, Living God…the Alpha and Omega…the First and the Last…
22 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a busy week, a hundredfold, answer for our words and deeds, bear much fruit, boundary lines, brought forth fruit, burgers, compromising, cook on the grill, create havoc, drinking something cold, earthly lives, electronic gadgets, faith, faithfulness, fateful day, fearful stuff, fell upon stony places, fellowship, finally spring, firmly planted, fowls devoured them, Friday chant, fruit fo the Spirit, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, gentleness, getting me through another week, goodness, had no root, he who hath ears to hear, hypocritically, immediately sprung up, in Jesus name, joy, judgement day, kindness, let him hear, let our guards down, lock up whole winter, lolling on the deck, long-suffering, lose our joy, LOVE, March break, meekness, my time, no deepness of earth, other fell into good ground, outside in shirtsleeves, parable of the sower, party, peace, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, rooted in his soul, scorched, seeds fell by the wayside, self-control, sixtyfold, steaks, temperance, TGIF!, Thank God is Friday, the enemy, the word of the Lord, thirtyfold, thou good and faithful servant, too far apart, video games, weekends, welcome, welcoming words, wisdom, wishy-washy, withered away, workingman's song
Matthew 13:8-9. But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. He who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Well at last it’s Friday! And many tired but grateful sighs emanate from many tired lungs and bodies, especially those who returned right at the last minute from the March Break and had no time to rest before heading back out to work on Monday. It’s a cruel world friends, a mighty cruel world, especially if you don’t have Jesus as your Lord and Leader.
Yeh, Christians have it hard too, but they have the internal peace and LOVE that Jesus brings to the hearts and souls of His followers, and thus we are able to handle the cruel world with much more sense and sensibility (smile) than the unbeliever. So if you want to be able to handle this cruel world with greater confidence, then the answer is JESUS! Give Him some much deserved thanks and praise my fellow believers!
But since it’s Friday, the workingman is also waiting in the wings to sing his Friday song. So let’s hear what gems of wisdom on life, that he has to offer us today. And he shouts out his usual opening: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! It’s been a busy week…but the weather’s not been bad! And yes, it’s finally spring! So we’ll soon be outside in shirtsleeves and such, barbecuing, lolling on the deck drinking something cold and waiting for the burgers and steaks to cook on the grill!
Wow! Yuh believe it? Springtime is here once again…and then it will be summer! Chuh! Gway with this winter business yes! Time to get the children and them outa the house too, where they lock up whole winter playing foolish video games. Children suppose to be outside playing, be it rain, snow or shine!
But sadly not these modern-day ones who have so much electronic gadgets to play with. Some of them don’t even know what outside looks like nuh! But I not going to kill mihself over them nuh, I know what I like to do and I’m going to do it, especially when it comes to the weekend – party, party, party! Mama Yo! That’s my time! Thank God for Fridays and weekends yes!’
Ah mih people, the workingman does make some good points in his weekly song, but it’s just that it’s usually too far over the edge, too far out on the limb for us believers in Jesus Christ! The boundary lines are set too wide apart, too much freedom to wander into the evil world, when Jesus desires His people to follow the narrow but safe path that leads to and through Him to eternal life.
Consequently, our Friday Chant differs a lot from the workingman’s song. So let’s chant our Friday Chant now with just as much enthusiasm as the workingman had in his song nuh. (smile) Altogether 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!’
Yes friends, believers are also entitled to fun, to a natural enjoyment in Christ, but we cannot let out guards down, for as soon as we do, the enemy will just jump in there and try to create havoc in our lives. Remember that’s his main aim; to disrupt our lives in Jesus! And we can’t afford to let him do that, otherwise we’ll lose all our joy and peace and become even more miserable than the unbeliever. And believe me, there’s nobody as miserable as a miserable believer! (smile)
That’s why we need to remember Jesus’ parable about the sower and keep it first place in our minds. ‘Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up. Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith (immediately) they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
And when the sun was up, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. He who hath ears to hear, let him hear.’ (Matt.13:3-9)
Yeh friends, he who has ears to hear let him hear! Let him hear the Word of the Lord, and let it be firmly planted and rooted in his soul, so that neither thorns, nor the sun nor the fowls of the air can uproot or scorch it, and thus it will bear much fruit in their lives.
Oh how Jesus desires us to bear the fruit of the Spirit in our earthly lives so that we can teach others about Him, but more importantly live the life we preach, that we’re currently so good at talking about but unfortunately living it very hypocritically.
Ah my fellow believers, if we’d only seriously read, study and meditate on God’s Word, so that it becomes deeply rooted in our hearts, then we’d be more likely to produce things like LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith (faithfulness), meekness and temperance (self-control), which make up the basic fruit of the Spirit! (Gal.6:22-23)
Now that’s what the world needs to see from believers! Not the wishy-washy, compromising, fearful stuff we’re currently showing them!
Remember though friends, that each of us will have to answer individually for our words and deeds come the judgement day, so please let’s try our best to do what is right, to run a worthy and worthwhile race, so that when that fateful day comes, the Lord will embrace us and joyfully say: ‘Welcome thou good and faithful servant!’
Friends, there are no better welcoming words than those, so let’s live the kind of life that will cause the Lord to eventually say them to us nuh. That’s wisdom of untold proportions! Much LOVE!
…only with the Word…deeply rooted in our souls…can we produce…the fruit of the Spirit…
17 Oct 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a draft of air, a glorious future with Jesus, a long road, a longing ache, a perfect heart, a terrific boss, bitterly, bursting with thnaksgiving, captain of my people, colourful sails, deity, dog days, doldrums, eagles, enjoy it, faithfulness, Father of all creation, fifteen years, generously rewards, glory, Glory Halleujah, good in thy sight, grace, gratitude, greatly deserves it, halfway home, heal thee, hearing the surf, heart and soul, Hezekiah, honour, in truth, iron birds, Isaiah, Jamaica, joy, king of Judah, Land of Wood and Water, laughter, loving kindness, mercy, Most High God Jehovah, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, never miss the water, not turning back, obedient to God's will, out of danger, planes, praise, profuse praise, promise, Sea Breeze, set thine house in order, sickness, tears of joy, the breath of life, the captain of my people, the Lord of hosts, the word of the Lord, thy prayer, till the well run dry, unto death, unto thy days, walked before thee, we will follow the Lord, Wednesday Wail, wept sore, Xaymaca, zeppo
2 Kings 6:a. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years…
All praise and honour, glory and exaltation to the Most High God Jehovah, the Lord of hosts, the Great I AM, the Father of ALL Creation! Please give Him much thanks and praise, because He greatly deserves it! He is indeed most worthy of all our thanksgiving! Praise His Holy Name!
And if you’re wondering why such profuse praise to Almighty God at the beginning of the Bit…well it’s simple: My heart and soul are just bursting with thanksgiving and gratitude, because once again He has shown His amazing faithfulness in my life. Yes friends, during the dog days, the doldrums of my illness, I would lie in my bed and hear and see the planes going by in the distance like eagles gliding along on a draft of air, and my heart would just fill with a longing ache to board one of those iron birds and just fly away to some exotic destination.
But yuh know what mih people? In those sad, sick and frustrating times, the Lord would gather me in His Ever-LOVING arms and comfort me with the promise that one day soon, I would fly away on an iron bird to an exotic destination. And friends, in all faithfulness, through His exceeding grace, mercy and LOVING-kindness, the Lord has kept His awesome promise. And that’s why my inner being is just bursting with joy and thanksgiving, and tears of joy are filling my eyes and flowing down my cheeks.
Oh mih people, the ole fella is in J.A, Jamaica; in Xaymaca, the land of wood and water…and beautiful women! Seen quite a few already! (smile) Glory be to the Most High God Jehovah! And the sea, sand, salt, sun…and rum are most excellent, just as the Lord promised! Had a colourful, red, green and blue shark-bite cocktail last night. (smile) How can I therefore not LOVE Him and proclaim His awesome name eh?
Oh my faithful believers, our God is indeed a most wonderful Deity, a terrific Boss, a hard taskmaster who expects diligence and excellence from us, but who also generously rewards us when we are obedient to His Holy Will! Praise His name my people, for there’s no other like Him!
And now, as I write this, feeling the cool sea breeze float through the open door, hearing the surf break upon the sand and see the small boats with their colorful, blue, yellow and green sails, and hear the laughter of other travellers down below, I can’t help but realize how blessed I am! Glory to God!
And as I just read this over, tears again filled my eyes. It’s been a long road my brethren, almost two years of sickness…and not completely out of danger yet. I was so close to going home to Him, but He gave me a reprieve, for which I am everlastingly grateful! As they say here in J.A: ‘yuh never miss the water until the well run dry!’ In my case I was blessed that my well had not run completely dry. So friends, let me seek for a scripture that will admirably fit our Bit today. Soon come!
Oh friends, it didn’t take long. Before I could even open the Good Book the zeppo came; the sickness of Hezekiah, king of Judah. The Good Book says: ‘In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz came to him and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying, I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore (bitterly).
And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came again to him, saying, Turn again and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord. And I will add unto thy days fifteen years…’ (2 Kin.20:1-6a)
Oh friends, I don’t know if I can compare my sorrow and weeping and goodness to Hezekiah’s nuh, but I do know that there was a lot of prayer and some tears. And the Lord in His mercy saw fit to grant me some more time here on earth. I don’t know if it’s fifteen years, or more, or less, but I do know that however much it is, I will enjoy it, and will praise and exalt His Holy name as much as I can, because He has been so good to me and mine. Glory be people!
When someone is good to us, we tell and show them thanks, so why not to our Maker and God eh? And I know that I’m not the only one so blessed, so why aren’t we praising and thanking our Saviour much more than we are eh? I don’t know the answer nuh, but it’s time to go home, so let’s declare our Wednesday Wail, letting the world know our position in Christ Jesus.
As one strong voice now: ‘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 Jesus promised that it will be glorious, then I know it will be so indeed! Much LOVE!
…as for me and mine…we WILL follow the LORD…no doubt about that…
P.S. Sorry that it’s so late, but I was really tired after the long journey…no longer accustomed to it (smile) and I just got the necessary energy to set up my stuff. And as always, when I’m on vacation, I can’t guarantee what time the Bit will go out, (smile) but you will get it. Much LOVE! Time for the beach now!
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