The Most Beneficial Partnership in Life, is that with Almighty God!

17 Mar 2025 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 128:1.        Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways.

And in accordance with God’s great plan of creation, another new day has dawned, thankfully not rainy like the last two, and we have also opened our eyes to see it, another part of God’s great plan. (smile) Unfortunately though, that new day is called Monday, which means getting back to work after the quiet and restful weekend and once again experiencing all the frustrations, annoyances, irritations, disappointments and resentments that will undoubtedly crop up during the day. 

But if we have made good use of the weekend, by getting sufficient rest, going to church and renewing our faith and confidence, then we will be able to handle whatever comes against us in Jesus’ name, with the awesome help of His Holy Spirit. Now, isn’t that alone a great reason to make Jesus our Lord and Saviour eh? For sure! And when you add all the other benefits we receive by making Him the Lord of our lives, it’s inconceivable that anyone could ever refuse to accept Him as the Number One Person in their lives. 

And we all know what Psalm 103 says about the Lord’s benefits: ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with LOVING-KINDNESS and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’ (Ps. 103:2-5) 

Yes Friends, that’s some of the wonderful benefits we receive when we partner with Almighty God, through His Son, Jesus Christ. And we’ve got to pay close attention to that word partner, because it doesn’t all happen automatically, but is dependent on us playing our part in the relationship. And I believe Psalm 128 gives us a good idea of how that works. 

It says: ‘Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands (the fruit of thy labour): happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of (in the heart of) thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.’ (Ps. 128:1-4) 

Now we all want to have those good things; happiness, eating the fruit of our labour, a fruitful wife and many responsible children. But it only comes when we sincerely reverence the Lord, walk in his ways and keep his commandments. And the opening verses of Psalm 119, agree with that, as they say: ‘Blessed are the undefiled (blameless) in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways. Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.’ (Ps. 119:1-4) 

There again, we see the responsibility expected us of from God, basically to keep His commandments, obey and revere Him, seeking Him with our whole hearts, not a part of them. But Moses possibly says it best, or rather more explicitly, when he told the Israelites as he reminded them of their responsibilities. 

‘Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else. Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee (you may prosper), and with thy children after thee, and thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth (live long in the land) which the Lord thy God giveth thee for ever.’ (Deut. 4:39- 40) 

Now there’s no mistaking what the Israelites and consequently we modern day believers need to do to see the Lord’s blessings on our lives. And for our information, the scholars explain that ‘The law is identified as testimonies…statutes…judgements. The “testimonies” denoted the covenant stipulations; the “statutes” were laws written down or inscribed on some suitable medium; and the “judgements” were the decisions of a judge (cf. Ps. 19:7-9).’ 

And those are also some very interesting verses from the pen of Bruh David, as he writes about God’s Law is Perfect. Please read with me: ‘The law of the Lord is perfect, converting (restoring) the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. 

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb (the drippings of the honeycomb). Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.’ (Ps. 19:7-11) 

Oh my people, what a great and happy world we would have if many more of us kept the Lord’s law instead of Satan’s lawlessness! Bruh David explains it so excellently; it makes wise the simple, restores our soul, rejoices our hearts, it’s  true and righteous, more desirable that gold, sweeter than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb, it warns us about the pitfalls of this life and last but not least it brings great rewards to those who revere the Lord and keep His law! 

It could not get any better than that my fellow believers! However, the Lord’s law is not always easy to keep in this sinful and ungodly world, but being the wise and compassionate Sovereign He is, He’s also provided a way for us to get His help; that’s by going to the throne of grace in times of need. So let’s do that right now nuh, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. 

Altogether: ‘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. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but 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. 

So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us 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 even in our own prayer, we voice the same things God expects of us; prayer, sincerely seeking His face, and turning from our evil ways. So how do we expect to get help if we don’t put those important things in place eh? Much LOVE!

…the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge…but fools despise wisdom and instruction… (Prov. 1:7)

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 October 2020 Isaiah 59:2.

15 Oct 2020 Leave a comment

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

Isaiah 59:2.     ​But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

Greetings and salutations, with much peace and LOVE, on this wet and dreary looking Thursday autumn morn my faithful brethren in Christ! Yes, that’s somewhat of a mouthful, (smile) but it comes sincerely from the heart, as we continue this most unpredictable and unexpected year of 2020. And re one of my usual musings, we’ve already reached the midpoint of October which just began the other day. (smile) 

Oh boy, although this year has been somewhat topsy-turvy, confusing and rather challenging, it has also passed rather quickly – at least in my humble opinion. That’s possibly because I’m not suffering as much as many people, who can’t find work, food nor money and are having a rather rough time of it all. Ah friends, for those of us who are having it fairly safe and comfortable, it behooves us to try and help the many who are not, who are facing unimaginable tragedy in their lives because of this seemingly unsolvable pandemic. 

This is the time when the church of Christ must step up, step forward and show the true colours of our Lord and Saviour. We possibly won’t have a better opportunity than this time to show the world what Christ is really about – in action, not just in words; LOVE and caring for both friend and stranger, grace and mercy, helping each other, praying for each other, sacrificing for each other, welcoming each other, where possible, with open arms, and encouraging each other to stand strong in faith in these turbulent times that seem to have no foreseeable end in sight. 

But that’s why we’re believers, our faith in Christ Jesus assures us that there will be an eventual end, and that we will come out good, even stronger on the other side; strong and more faithful than ever! And that’s what we have to try and encourage in all those with whom we come into contact – whether it’s by snail mail, e-mail, text-messaging, telephone or in person – that this Covid -19 business and the societal upheaval in general will not last forever, but if we get back to our roots, get back to the Father and Creator of all; the One who sent His Son to die for us while we were yet strangers and sinners, then our current sorry plight will definitely improve. 

But until we do that, we’ll keep on having disastrous times. Hear this scripture from Isaiah on the topic of national corruption and consequent suffering nuh. ‘Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened. That it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood (cause much bloodshed), and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity (empty words), and speak lies; they conceive mischief (trouble, evil), and bring forth iniquity.’ (Is. 59:1-4) 

Yeh friends, Isaiah was telling his people that the Lord’s hand was not yet beyond the reach of salvation for their abominable sins, which He laid out in more detail in the ongoing verses of the chapter. However, at the very end of that chapter He made this promise. ‘And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and forever.’ (Is.20-21) 

But yuh know what, even though the Almighty kept His promise, and made it so much easier for us to receive salvation through the sacrifice of his Son Jesus Christ, we have fallen into the same well of evil in which the Israelites found themselves so long ago. Yeh, without a doubt, our current society is a reflection of that bygone one, and even worse than that, since we are purposely trying to turf God out of our society, and blatantly lording our sins and sinful behaviour over Him. 

But the Lord God Jehovah is still merciful and graceful and long-suffering, and the same thing He told the Israelites way back then, is what He’s also trying to tell us now: it is not too late to turn from our evil ways, though our sins separate us from His presence. But in our proud, stubborn and know-it-all state, we refuse to listen and persist in our sinful, iniquitous ways. Remember all those times Israel departed from God and the tough circumstances they then found themselves in? Now why would it be any different with us eh? 

But the wise thing about Israel is that they eventually remembered where their bread was buttered, woke up and returned to worshipping the Lord…and He took them back with opened arms and healed their land. It’s the same offer He’s making to us today my people; return to my fold and I will forgive and heal you. But no, we seem too proud and haughty, too big for our britches to admit our failure, our wrongdoing and give up our worldly passions and desires. Therefore ‘sufferation’ will continue. 

And it’s not so much the Lord’s doing nuh, but mostly our own ignorance and pride. Take a look at the pandemic; the only things we have right now to lessen the slaughter are physical distancing, wearing masks and washing hands, but we refuse to adhere to those simple protocols, while we watch unnecessary deaths consequently proliferate. Is that the action of a wise society? I very much doubt it. 

Anyway, enough preaching for today. (smile) People of God, let’s go home now declaring (yeahh!) our Thursday Blessings which the Lord has so magnanimously bestowed on us so that we can perform His blessed work down here on earth. All together now, in strong voice, with sincere hearts: 

‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’  

Now let us go out, or stay in, whichever is safer and more practical, and share those blessings with others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us. That’s our bounden duty! Much LOVE!

…true wisdom…following the guidance of the Holy Spirit…not the lustful, fleshly desires of the evil one…