A Reminder why Christ should ALWAYS Be First Place In Our Lives!

20 Dec 2024 Leave a comment

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

2 Corinthians 3:5.       Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.  

And it’s the Friday before Christmas! Wow! What a wonderful long weekend this will be! Some of us not going back to work for almost a week, if we have vacation time and a good employer! (smile) Thus the many joyful shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ But please, let’s not forget to include Christ in all of our Christmas doings, for He is the reason that we are celebrating this joyful time, and without Him we are nothing. As He so rightfully reminds us in the Word: ‘I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5) 

Now that should be a scripture that’s always uppermost in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, because without Jesus in us and we in Him, we cannot produce any good fruit. For it’s His presence in us, as the Holy Spirit, that sows the seeds of good fruit, then gives us the strength and wisdom to water and nurture them, as well as the necessary patience to wait for them to blossom forth with much good fruit. And that’s exactly why so many of us supposed Christians are not bearing much fruit, or any fruit at all. We’re forgetting the necessity of keeping Jesus first place in all that we do, keeping Him uppermost in our minds as we live each day, and asking for His help and guidance to do His will in His way and in His time. 

And by the way, I guess we can use a refresher re the fruit that Jesus refers to. (smile) Bruh Paul outlines it to the Galatians thus: ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), gentleness (kindness), goodness (generosity), faithfulness, Meekness (courtesy with others), temperance (self-control): against such there is no law.’ (Gal. 5:22-23) Yes friends, it’s ALL about Jesus, and the moment we forget or lose sight of that most essential fact, then we begin to slide, to lose our bearings and life becomes unbearable. 

Consequently, there’s this other scripture that we should always keep in the forefront of our lives. They are these most interesting and poignant words of Bruh Paul to the Corinthians: ‘Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.’ (2 Cor. 3:5) And until we have that fully planted in our souls, we won’t get anywhere. And that’s one of the reasons why our world is in such a chaotic state; we’ve become so filled with knowledge and supposed wisdom, which we feel is all our doing, and therefore we no longer need God’s help; we can handle it all. But if we’re so wise and great, why is there so much strife and disaster enveloping our once beautiful world eh? 

It’s all because we’ve forgotten God, or worse yet, are trying to rid our society of Him, which is totally impossible. That just shows how foolish, arrogant and prideful we’ve become, if we believe that we can get rid of the Creator of the universe. And that’s why He’s given us free will; to make our own choices, be they good or foolish. We have no one to blame but ourselves for our foolish behaviour, because the Lord has given us everything we need to make a good life down here on earth. 

As Peter attests to in his second epistle. ‘Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through (in) the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.’ (2 Pet. 1:2-4) And is there ever a lot of lust and corruption in our world today. It seems like there’s nothing else but that. 

However, that scripture above tells us that God has already given us EVERYTHING we need for life and godliness. As parts of these two commentaries affirm: ‘We are prepared for anything. All the opportunities, information, relationships have already been given to us through knowing Him.’ As Believers, ‘Through the power of the Holy Spirit and His grace, we can seek God’s wisdom, choose to act in obedience to His Word, and live a fruitful life that reflects His glory.’ 

And there’s no disputing those words my brethren, for our wonderful God has done all He can to ensure that we have a decent earthly life, then, when we depart this earth, to end up with Him in heaven for all eternity. There’s no more that He can do! The rest of it all depends on us. How we respond to His commands will determine both our earthly and eternal destinies. And today, I will advise us to take a moment and consider the kind of lives we’re currently leading, and if they will enable us to live the abundant life that Christ died for us to live here on earth, and then catapult us to His waiting arms when we shed this mortal coil. It’s oh so important that we regularly check out our lives to see how we’re doing, so that we can make any necessary adjustments. 

Now, let’s go to throne of grace, through our Chant, seeking divine aid to help us toe the line. Altogether: ‘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!’ 

Ah friends, it’s ever so important that we wake up and smell the coffee and thus become better witnesses for Christ, if we expect to receive any divine aid! Much LOVE!

…only with Christ in us…and we in Him…that believers can do anything worthwhile…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   1 August 2023   2 Corinthians 3:5.

01 Aug 2023 Leave a comment

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

2 Corinthians 3:5.       Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God.

Now, whether you believe it or not, it is indeed the first day of August, a beautiful Tuesday; cool, sunshiny and without a trace of a cloud in the bright blue sky. Ah Lord eh, the good days just fly by so quickly while the cold and ugly-looking ones take their own sweet time to move along. But that’s life, and like all the other aspects of our earthly days, we just have to learn to accept and handle them, obviously with the help of the Holy Spirit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, our guide and comfort. 

And I know that talk is cheap, while actions cost a lot more, but worrying and agonizing over the things of life we cannot control won’t make them improve or go away. However, with Jesus in your life, you have the assurance that He will help you handle whatever comes against you. Not that He won’t give you more than you can handle, as so many people mistakeably dispense. For all throughout the Bible you can find passages where the Lord gave His servants more than they could humanly handle. 

Take for instance when Elijah fought and slew all the 450 prophets of Baal, then faced the wrath of Queen Jezebel, who threatened to kill him, he ran for his life a day’s journey into the wilderness and sat down under a juniper tree, and requested of the Lord that he would die. But as it says in 1 Kings 19:1-8, the Lord fed him through ravens and allowed him to rest. 

‘And the angel of the Lord came again a second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat (food) forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.’ (1 Kin. 19:7-8) It’s obvious then that Elijah reached a stage where he just couldn’t handle it anymore, but the Lord looked after him. And that’s what He’s promised to do, for all who sincerely worship Him. 

And I like the examples this commentary by Ron Edmonson gives. ‘David, the great war hero and man after God’s own heart, told the Lord that “troubles without number surround me” and “I cannot see”. He couldn’t see clearly, because he was overwhelmed with the storms of life! Another time David said, “Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.” (Oh how I identify with David there!) Jehoshaphat prayed, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” (2 Chr. 20:12) It sounds like he was facing more than he could handle on his own.’ 

So it’s not that God won’t give us more than we can handle but what the scripture says is: ‘There hath no temptation taken (overtaken) you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear (endure) it.’ (1 Cor. 10:13) 

What that verse says is that God won’t allow Satan to bring  more temptation or enticement to sin than we can handle, and when we are tempted or enticed to sin, He will make a way for us to resist it, because He doesn’t want us to fall into Satan’s clutches, but to live the holy life that Christ desires of us. But He will allow stuff to come on us greater than we handle in our own right, because He wants us to come to the end of our rope and realize that He’s our ONLY HOPE! 

And in Bruh Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth, he tells them of his deliverance from suffering and death in Asia. ‘For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble (tribulation) which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure (burdened), above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life. But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us.’ (2 Cor. 1:8-10) 

Wow! That time of trouble certainly caused Bruh Paul to keep His focus on Almighty God and not himself. And anytime we get into problems we cannot handle, it should also cause us to do the same! Yes friends, our hope lies only in Christ Jesus! For as Bruh Paul later writes: ‘And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God.’ (2 Cor. 3:4-5) 

And until we truly believe and action those sentiments my brethren, we’ll always have problems that cause us unnecessary worry and overwhelming anxiety, instead of the quieting peace of Christ. It’s like Christ says: ‘I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5) And there’s never been a truer word ever spoken my fellow saints! 

So please let’s take it to heart and place all of our trust in the sinless ONE, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, so that we can handle all the vicissitudes of this interesting but eccentric life. (smile) Now let’s go home declaring (chuh!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong lock, stock and barrel. In sincere harmony: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’ 

Now, it behooves us to go out and share that amazing friendship and LOVE of Christ with those we meet, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…trust not in fragile and deceitful man… but in the awesome faithfulness and power of Jehovah God…

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ   

Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 May 2021 2 Corinthians 3:5.

03 May 2021 Leave a comment

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

2 Corinthians 3:5.     ​Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.

Another merry-go-round Monday friends! It’s amazing how quickly the days are passing by although we are immersed in so much conflict and sickness. And it’s so sad that many of us don’t know whether we are coming or going, with our lives all confused and topsy-turvy, with no plausible ending currently in sight. But as positive and serious believers in Christ Jesus, we are expected to hold on tightly to Him and ride out the storm with His lead and guidance. Remember His teaching re the vine and the branches? 

‘Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:4-5) That’s putting it very clearly and straightforward friends! Without Christ, our abilities are very limited. But with Him, we can do all things, because He strengthens us. Glory be! 

And Bruh Paul corroborates Christ’s statement when he says to the church at Corinth: ‘Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.’ (2 Cor. 3:5) Now that’s exactly why we need to hold on to Christ and His faithful promises, especially in times of indecision and crisis like we’re now experiencing. And we know that many of our problems stem from our own mistakes, by our terrible inhumanity and critical lack of compassion for our fellow man, as we allowed the evil and negative aspects of the world, the lusts of the flesh, as it were, to take control of our society. 

We’re talking about the same things that Bruh Paul so long ago advised the Galatians against. ‘Adultery, fornication, uncleanness (sexual impurity), lasciviousness (sexual excess), Idolatry, witchcraft (sorcery), hatred, variance (contentions), emulations (jealousies), wrath, strife (selfish ambitions), seditions (dissensions), heresies (organized divisions or cliques), Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings (excessive eating and carousing) and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.’ (Gal. 5:19-21) 

So, basically, most of our problems stem from those things being too prevalent in our modern-day world. We lack what Bruh Paul calls the fruit of the Spirit. And here’s how he explains it to the Galatians. ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith (faithfulness), Meekness, temperance (self-control): against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts (it’s passions).’ (Gal. 5:22-24) 

And the scholars offer this basic explanation. ‘5:19-23. By contrasting the works of the flesh (vs. 19-21) with the fruit of the Spirit (vs. 22-23), the believer can know whether he is walking by the Spirit or being controlled by the flesh.’ And there’s no doubt that too many human beings are currently walking in the lusts of the flesh and not in the fruit of the Spirit, thus the ghastly and grievous situation that now exists in our world. 

Now, here’s another important scholarly explanation, I think I ought to mention. ‘5:22. The word fruit is significant for three reasons. (1) It means the result, product, outcome, or effect produced by the Spirit in the believer’s life. (2) Unlike “the gifts of the Spirit” (plural), only some of which are given to a Christian, each believer is to have ALL nine virtues composing “the fruit of the Spirit” (singular) (3) As fruit on a tree takes time to grow and mature, so the Spirit does not cultivate these virtues in the believer’s life overnight.’ That’s an important distinction we need to note between the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ and the ‘gifts of the Spirit,’ One is singular and the other is plural. 

And just for good measure, (smile) I’ll throw in some more scholarly explanations, this time in a little more detail, re the fruit of the Spirit. ‘LOVE is willing, sacrificial giving of oneself for the benefit of another without thought of return. Joy is gladness of heart. Peace is tranquility of mind, freeing one from worry and fear. Long-suffering is patience with others, the opposite of a short temper, a disposition quietly bearing injury. Gentleness is kindness. Goodness is generosity. Faith here is dependability. Meekness is gentleness, that is, courtesy and consideration of one’s relations with others. Temperance is self-control, that is, the ability to harness and control one’s passions and lusts.’ 

So now, we can’t say we didn’t know what the fruit of the Spirit is, (smile) which brings us to these closing words of Bruh Paul on the subject. ‘If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.’ (Gal. 5:25) That means, since we are supposed to live by the Spirit as believers, let us really follow the leadings and promptings of the Spirit in our lives.

 Finally, let’s go home pleading in prayer, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, for God’s mercy and grace on our current untenable situation. As one voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has 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 wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. 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 the obvious corollary to that is for us to now go out and seriously and sincerely live by the Spirit, if we want to see substantial change in our world. Much LOVE!

…only by sticking close to Christ…like white on rice…can we crucify…the inherent lusts of the flesh… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8