then I understood their end

The Overwhelming Importance of Putting Complete Trust in Jehovah God!

07 Jun 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a godly promise, a growing relationship with God, a lover of intimacy, a sincere heart, a spiritual man, as a dream, Bishop Riscylla Shaw, brought into desolation, Christian Residence Schools, deepen my breath, destroyed those who are unfaithful to you, destruction of the wicked, envious of the wicked's prosperity, essential to keeping our faith strong, face doubts and fears, faith, find the answer to the problem, God doesn't make idle promises, God is the strength of my heart, guide me with counsel, he won't ever defeat us, holy spirit, I am continually with thee, I have put my trust in the Lord, I marvel to think, I may declare all thy works, I may know you all the more, I praise you for your unceasing nearness, I was as a beast before thee, increase my awareness of you today, Indigenous people, it is good for me to draw near to God, Jesus Christ, Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, Lord I want to be with you now, lost his faith, LOVE, mercy, Metis heritage, my flesh and my heart faileth, my flesh and my heart fails, my heart was grieved, my portion for ever, Pentecost Prayer Breakfast, pierced in my mind, pricked in my reins, put on the armour of god, quiet my soul, receive me to glory, received a divine perspective, relax my muscles, reprehensible act of colonialism, salvation, sentiments, slow my thoughts, so foolish was I, stand firm for God, stripped of their culture, stumbled spiritually, Suffragan Bishop of Toronto, thank you for this tenderness, the destiny of the wicked, the enemy can take his best shot, the enemy shoots his fiery darts at us, the spiritually mature, then I understood their end, there is none upon earth I desire beside thee, they that are far from thee shall perish, thou didst set them in slippery places, thou hast held me by thy right hand, truth, Truth and Reconciliation, until I went into the sanctuary of God, utterly consumed with terrors, walk in god's will, warnings of smoke from wildfires, whom have I in heaven but thee, wisdom, with God's protection, write deeply in our hearts souls bodies and minds, you are here with me, you can't be contained, your love both surrounds and fills me, your peace and love are present

Psalm 73:26. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength (rock) of my heart, and my portion for ever.

It’s a hot and hazy lazy-day Saturday friends, like it was yesterday, with more warnings of smoke from the wildfires. Thankfully, though I saw the haziness of the smoke in the area, I could not smell it because my allergies were acting up, just as they are today. But that did not stop us from going to the annual Pentecost Prayer Breakfast at my church this morning, where everyone had a good time…as always, (smile) led by our indomitable, courageous and joyful pastor Fr. Jeff Brown. And that’s why we’re somewhat late with the Bit.

We also had an interesting and informative Guest Peaker, Bishop Riscylla Shaw, the Suffragan Bishop of Toronto, giving us some insights into her Indigenous (Metis) Heritage and her work with the Truth and Reconciliation Committee. Unfortunately, that Committee was brought about by another disgusting and reprehensible act of the Colonial Era, the Christian Residence Schools, where the Indigenous people were stripped of their language, culture, history and self-confidence so that they could become good Christian children.

Oh, the abominable things we’ve done, supposedly in the name of the Lord! But slowly, things are changing, and though it may take a long time to come to rights, we have to keep working and praying to finally see that day, although most of us currently alive, probably will not see it. In the meantime, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, with heartfelt sincerity.

As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’

And as we full well know; intimacy is one thing the Lord will not, in fact, cannot refuse, if we come to Him with a sincere heart, because that’s who He is: a LOVER of intimacy, and one of His purposes for creating us. And speaking of intimacy, there’s no better revelation of that fact than in the psalmist Asaph’s situation, as he states in Psalm 73, the first part of which we looked at yesterday. He was jealous and envious of the wicked and their seeming prosperity here on earth, while the righteous were suffering, and he almost stumbled spiritually and lost his faith…’Until I went into the sanctuary of God: then I understood their end.’ (Ps. 73:17)

As the scholars explain: ‘Not until the psalmist entered God’s sanctuary and received a divine perspective on the wicked’s prosperity did he find his answer to the problem.’ Yes, then and only then did he truly realize how our God looks at wickedness, as he says: ‘Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How they are brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors. As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.’ (Ps. 73:18-20)

And that’s for certain sure! The Lord has made many promises to destroy the wicked and their seed when He is good and ready. And since we know He doesn’t make idle promises, that destruction of the wicked is definitely in the cards. However, as we said yesterday, for those of us who are having problems envying the wicked and their earthly prosperity, it might also be a good thing for us to go into the house of the Lord and try to find greater intimacy and understanding with Him.

For as Asaph further confesses: ‘Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins (pierced in my mind). So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden (held) me by thy right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.’ (Ps. 73: 22-24) Now those are also faithful promises made by our God to the righteous, so if we walk in His will, then we can be assured that He will keep them.

And I like how he concludes the psalm. ‘Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength (rock) of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee (those who are unfaithful to thee). But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.’ (Ps. 73:25-28) Now my fellow believers, those are words and sentiments that we should all have and write deeply in our hearts, souls, bodies and minds, for they are essential in keeping our faith strong and growing.

And we’ll close with this overall explanation of the psalm from the scholars. ‘He saw (Asaph) the destiny of the wicked (vs. 17-20); therefore, he repented of his foolishness (vs. 21-22) and found his happiness solely in a warm and growing relationship with God (vs. 23-28). The point of the psalm is driven home even more dramatically when remembering that Asaph, the author, was a spiritual man who grew up with deeply religious training. (1 Chr. 15:16-19; 16:4-7; 2 Chr. 5:12; 29:30).’Those are references to where Asaph is mentioned in the Bible as an important musician and seer under Bruh David and other kings.

Now, Asaph’s problem just goes to show that even the spiritually mature amongst us can face doubts and fears when the enemy shoots his fiery darts at us. So, it is incumbent on us to always put on the armour of God for protection, and when we do…then we stand…stand firm for God! Much LOVE!

…the enemy can take his best shot…but with God’s protection…he won’t ever defeat us…that’s a godly promise…

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

The Necessity for Believers to Resist the Pull of the Prosperity of the Wicked!

06 Jun 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, a new flock of believers, amidst all the anxiety and confusion, be responsible, cause for pause, ceaseless drive for wealth and power, chaos, chastened every morning, Christian living, corrupt, crying out for help, disaster areas, drifting smoke from wildfires, eyes bulge with abundance, faith, feudal states, Friday chant, genocide, God is good to Israel, gospel truth, holy spirit, I almost stumbled, I have cleansed my heart in vain, I saw the prosperity of the wicked, I was envious at the foolish, in whose powerful name we stand, inequality of wealth, inhumanity, is there knowledge in the most High, LOVE, man's fault, man's inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn, mercy, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped, no bands in their death, no holds barred, no pain in their death, no regard for planet earth, not in trouble as other men, omnipotent help, plagued like other men, pride surrounds them like a necklace, problems escalating, return backsliders to your fold, salt and light, salvation, simmering unrest, sinful world, slavery, stay safe, such as are of a clean heart, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the error of their ways, the example your faithful believers set, the King of Kings, the Lord of lords, the ordinary man, the poor are getting poorer, the powerful attraction to a wealthy lifestyle, the prosperity of the wicked, the rich are getting richer, the ungodly, the world to come, their eyes stand out with fatness, their strength is firm, then I understood their end, these ungodly times, they increase in riches, to handle the unexpected storms properly, to whom we belong, too few have too much, too many have too little, too painful for me, truth, until I went into the sanctuary of God, violence covers them like a garment, wake up and smell the coffee, washed my hands in innocency, who prosper in the world, wisdom, wise guidance

Psalm 73:3. For I was envious at the foolish (boastful), when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

And it looks like it might be a hazy and somewhat smokey Friday, as smoke from the wildfires drift our way. And it’s indeed possible, for I remember smelling the smoke in the air a couple of years ago when the wildfires were particularly bad. But that hasn’t stopped the shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ from being sent up to heaven.

Ah Lord eh! What a sad state our world has come to, with only chaos and disaster all over our beautiful earth! But that’s man’s fault, not God’s, as in our ceaseless drive for wealth and power, we have done everything to abuse and destroy all that God’s made. What a destructive, childish, selfish and greedy animal is man, with very little regard for planet earth or his fellow man! That’s why down through the years this saying has continued to be ever so true: ‘Man’s inhumanity to man, makes countless thousands mourn!’ Nowadays it’s millions!

And if that isn’t the gospel truth, I don’t know what is! From slavery, to genocide to feudal states, to right now when the inequality of income and wealth is so vast that so few have the majority of the wealth and power, while so many have next to nothing. But do you think that gives us cause for pause? Not on your life! For the haves are trying to take even the little that the have nots possess. I don’t know how much they want, or how much they need to live, but unfortunately their mantra is more…ever more.

That’s why even the psalmist Asaph was perplexed and envied the wealthy, as he writes in Psalm 73 – Prosperity of the Wicked. ‘Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean (pure) heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone (I had almost stumbled), my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish (boastful), when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.’ (Ps. 73:1-3) And for the ordinary man, who’s trying to make an honest living, it’s difficult not to be envious of the boastful, greedy and wicked wealthy.

And there’s no doubting the powerful attraction to that lifestyle, since we all desire to live the good and easy life. It made even a spiritually strong man like Asaph almost to stumble spiritually and lose his faith. And why not, especially as Asaph continues: ‘For there are no bands (pangs or pain) in their death: but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain (serves as a necklace); violence covereth them as a garment.

Their eyes stand out with fatness (bulge with abundance): they have more than heart could wish. They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning (scoff at) oppression: they speak loftily (proudly). They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth. Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them (drained by them). And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High? Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world (are always at ease); they increase in riches.’ (Ps. 73:4-12)

Yes my faithful brethren, that’s exactly what’s happening in our world today; the rich are getting richer, while the poor are getting poorer! And the rich are blatantly showing that they don’t give a damn about God or man by their utter avariciousness. Sadly, there are no holds barred to their greed. That’s why Asaph could further say: ‘Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain (kept my heart pure in vain), and washed my hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning. If I say, I will speak thus; behold I should offend against (would have been untrue to) the generation of thy children. When I thought to know (understand) this, it was too painful for me (too troublesome in my eyes). Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end.’ (Ps. 73:13-17)

Glory be my people! It was only when Asaph went into the Lord’s house that he understood what would eventually happen to the greedy and wicked and evil. Now, the same remedy might apply to some of the many of us who understandably are envious of the wicked and prosperous. We might just need to visit the Lord’s house and talk to Him, or let Him talk to us about the situation. For as it’s been said throughout the Bible, the wicked may prosper in their day, but eventually they all will be destroyed by the Lord God Jehovah! And they’re so bold face to ask, how does the Lord know, and if there’s knowledge in the most High? That blasphemy alone will condemn them to certain death.

So let’s remember that though the wicked might be prosperous in this world, they will not be in the world to come, therefore let’s avoid envying them, since this world doesn’t count as much as the other. And yes, that’s hard to do when we see the amount of inhumanity being meted out to the poor and downtrodden, but please remember whose we are, and in whose powerful name we stand…Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, the most powerful person in the universe!

Now, let’s go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant, seeking divine help in these very awful and very atrocious times. All together: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help.

Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.

We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’

And if we’re truthful to ourselves, we already know that much of the world’s sad state can be attributed to the faithful not being good examples of Christian living, not spreading enough salt and light to the unbelieving world. So, let’s try and turn things around by better witnessing nuh. It’s not too late to start! Much LOVE!

…now might be the wicked’s time…but tomorrow it will Jesus’ time…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 November 2022 Psalm 37:1.

25 Nov 2022 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, all that go a whoring from thee, be responsible, be well fed, Black Friday, bring backsliders back to your fold, by the example we set, confusion, Cyber Monday, depart from me ye that work iniquity, doorcrasher sales, dwell in the land, embrace your love and compassion, Fret not thyself over evildoers, Friday chant, havoc, I was envious of the foolish, introduce a new flock, it is good to draw near to God, LOVE, my feet were almost gone, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity, omnipotent help, our sinful world, reason for living, stand strong and steadfast, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the true state of the wicked, the workers of iniquity do flourish, then I understood their end, they shall soon be cut down like grass, trust in the Lord and do good, until I went into the sanctuary of God, utterly consumed with terrors, wake up and smell the coffee, wither as the green herb

Psalm 37:1. Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

So finally it’s Friday, and everyone has already shouted: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here!’ But many others have also shouted: ‘Thank God Black Friday is here, and the stores are filled with all kinds of sales, sales to die for!’ And believe me, over the last few years that this greedy, merchant invention on the Friday after Thanksgiving, has been in progress, several people have died when violence has broken out over stuff in the stores or in the lines outside the stores with the door crasher nonsense. But the merchants don’t care, because they are getting more foot traffic through their businesses, which means more money for them, their prime reason for living.

And the sad part is that many of the supposed sale items are not really on sale, but just appear to be, or there are only a few on sale, which they use to draw unsuspecting customers into the store, knowing that once in there, you will buy other stuff at regular or even inflated prices. But yet still we fall for the lies and deceptions of the merchants, iniquity workers, the devotees of Satan. And then comes this Monday, or Cyber Monday, another recently invented shopping day, when the stuff is online and all the computers and servers are going a mile a minute.

I have to laugh yes, because some people have been bugging me all week about Black Friday sales and I’ve just checked out the stuff I might have been interested in, but they are all the same prices pre the Black Friday Sale. So the great Black Friday hype is of no use to me. Once upon a time there was nothing between Halloween and Christmas, but now we’ve found a way to increase our shopping days at Thanksgiving. Hn! How ingenious are our merchants! And what does the Good Library, the Bible, tell us about iniquity workers? A whole lot my brethren.

Bruh David said it so well in Psalm 37, that famous treatise on ‘The true state of the wicked.’ He wisely advises: ‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.’ (Ps. 37:1-2) And that’s wisdom in spades my people! If you are a child of God, then you don’t have to worry about evildoers for the Lord has faithfully promised that they will get their comeuppance in due time. And there are numerous scriptures that describe the eventual demise of the wicked.

Let’s check out a few. Psalm 92 declares: ‘O Lord how great are thy works! And thy thoughts are very deep. A brutish (senseless) man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this. When the wicked spring (up, sprout) as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed forever: But thou Lord art most high for evermore. For, lo, thine enemies, O Lord, for, lo, thine enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. But my horn (strength) shalt thou exalt like a unicorn (wild ox): I shall be anointed with fresh oil.’ (Ps. 92:5-10)

Yes friends, the Lord will destroy the wicked but exalt the righteous in His own time. Then there are these knowledgeable and wise, warning words form Asaph in his famous psalm – The mystery of prosperous wickedness. He says: ‘Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean (pure) heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone (I had almost stumbled); my steps had wellnigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish (boastful), when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.’ (Ps. 73:1-3)

Oh my brethren that’s what envy of the prosperous wicked does to us. And if a supposed holy and righteous man like Asaph could be tempted to be envious of iniquity workers, we ought to pay close attention to ourselves too. And please note that although he knew of his folly, he had a hard time getting rid of that envy (vs. 12-16) he only found solace from that envy ‘Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end.

Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction, How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors…For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed them all that go a whoring from (are unfaithful to) thee. But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.’ (Ps. 73:17-19, 27-28)

And that’s exactly how it ought to be my faithful brethren! Now listen to this last scripture, words from Jesus Himself, when talking about false prophets who at the end times will be calling out to Him for mercy, claiming that they had casted out devils (demons), prophesied, and done many wonderful works (miracles), all in His name. But Jesus declares: ‘And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (lawlessness).’ (Matt. 7:23)

Oh friends, I know it’s difficult watching the wicked and greedy grow from strength to strength, while you in your righteousness are not progressing as the world understands progress, but please don’t let the prosperity of the evildoers bring you down to the point where you want to join them, because their prosperity is only for a short time here on earth, while the prosperity of the righteous shall go on right down through eternity, if we don’t give up. And it all comes together, through strong faith, ceaseless prayer and plenty thanksgiving. So let’s indulge in all of that right now nuh, through our Friday Chant.

As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the several viruses and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the viruses and the simmering unrest in our land.

So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways.

And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic, the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land that’s threatening to boil over, as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’

That means we must now devote ourselves to having a clean heart and right motives, so that the Lord can positively answer our prayer. Much LOVE!

…let’s trust in the Lord…and do good…so that we shall dwell in the land…and be well fed… (Ps. 37:3)

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ

SCRIP-BITS

The Overwhelming Importance of Putting Complete Trust in Jehovah God!

The Necessity for Believers to Resist the Pull of the Prosperity of the Wicked!

Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 November 2022 Psalm 37:1.

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