The Overwhelming Importance of Christians Having the Same Mindset as Jesus, if They Desire to Live and Work for Him!

29 Dec 2025 Leave a comment

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

Philippians 2:5.         Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

And if you are not one of the smart, blessed or lucky ones who have the day off, (smile) then you would have gone out to work in the bad weather this Monday morning, a few days before New Year’s Eve. Let’s hope you were careful on the roads, for most likely they were very treacherous, what with the combination of rain, snow, freezing rain and sleet we’ve had this weekend. 

Now, although Christmas Day has passed, the season isn’t over, so please keep the peace, LOVE and joy going, wherever you may be, for we desperately need to turn things around in our old world for this new year. Jesus is depending on us to do the jobs we signed up for when we became His disciples. It’s like He said: “If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23) That means getting out there every day with a good attitude, even though life might not be the greatest, and showing the world a true reflection of Jesus. 

Obviously it’s not easy, but it’s what is expected of us as true and sincere believers. None of us like the idea of sacrificing anything, but do you think Jesus liked the idea of sacrificing Himself on that rugged cross? No way! But the Father asked it of Him, for our benefit, and since He LOVED the Father and wanted to be obedient to Him, He valiantly put His life on the line for us. 

And Bruh Paul puts it very plainly in his letter to the Philippians. ‘Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men (emptied himself of all his privileges): And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ (Phil. 2:5-8) 

Yuh see that my fellow believers, Jesus gave up everything He had to come to earth to die in our place. So, please don’t tell me that we can’t suffer and sacrifice a little on His behalf. And that’s exactly why our world is in such an evil and ungodly mess; we Christians have gotten too comfortable and fearful and thus are not willing to go to bat for Jesus as much as is necessary, but we keep crying out to Him for help when troubles befall us and bold facedly expect Him to help us. 

But don’t forget that it takes two to tango, and two hands to wash each other, so if we need Jesus’ help, we must do what He desires. Remember His words: ‘If you LOVE me, you will keep my commandments.’ (John 15:15) So all the empty talk we spout about Jesus is just that; talk without any worthwhile action. And please note that Jesus does not expect us to kill ourselves on His behalf, but just to do an honest day’s work, like we would do for our earthly employers. 

But then, that brings up the interesting question of how many of us in today’s greedy and selfish society, do an honest day’s work? Hn! Definitely not the majority, since the general trend is to do as little as possible, or as little as we can get away with. But that is not the way Jesus wants His believers to behave. 

Bruh Paul also made that quite clear when he said in his letter to the Colossians: ‘And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. For he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: And there is no respect of persons.’ (Colo. 3:23-25) 

Yes friends, when we live for Christ, we are expected do things diligently and excellently, as though we are doing it for Him, for in the end we will receive the reward for our good attitude from Him. And likewise, if we do wrong, we will also receive the tough consequences for our disobedience, for God is impartial. Now, to help us handle all that is coming and will come against us, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid in these turbulent times. 

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!’ 

Now it’s up to us to do what our prayer says; turn from our evil ways, so that God can prosper us. And that in turn means going to God for help in all sincerity and truth…if we truly desire divine aid. Much LOVE!

…it’s high time Christians action what we so lustily sing…Stand up…Stand up for Jesus…the trumpet call obey… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   23 September 2022 Deuteronomy 31:6.

23 Sep 2022 Leave a comment

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

Deuteronomy 31:6.        Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee nor forsake thee. 

Well friends, at long last the cool weather seems to be creeping in, and the summer-like temps we’ve been having into late September will soon disappear. For example, today, as we declare ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ our temperature is around ten degrees Celsius, and is not expected to get higher than 16. And we really can’t complain nuh, because in these northern climes, this September has been awfully good to us weather wise. I can’t remember seeing such summer-like weather in September in a long, long while. 

But as they say, an end to all good things must be, so let’s say ‘Thank You Lord!’ It was good while it lasted, and let’s now proceed to get ourselves ready for the big chill, which will eventually come…as it always does. (smile) And the good thing about being a follower of Jesus is that we can handle whatever situation we face in this life, because He is always there with His Holy Spirit to protect us, to lead and guide us safely through any storm that comes against us. And in God’s Word, the Holy Bible, there are numerous promises of protection and safety. 

However, it’s not just carte blanche protection, without any problems whatsoever. And I believe this qualification on God’s protection from an article on the subject on the website biblestudytools.com gives us a good foundation for what to and what not to expect. ‘The Bible informs us about the protection of God. As humans, we want to see God’s protection as a magic force field that keeps us from all harm. Yes, God can prevent any evil or destruction, but we must remember that we live in a fallen world where we have free will. 

Many times, God works in ways that we do not understand. Sometimes God’s protection comes in the form of peace and strength in the middle of despair. Other times God’s protection comes as an ending because he sees something more on the horizon that we cannot see. As a believer in Jesus, we are promised a new life covered under the protection of God in which NOTHING can separate us from His love. Rest knowing that no matter what hardship you face, God is your provider and protector!’ 

And that’s the gospel truth! Now let’s look at some Bible verses that extol and support that contention. And there’s no better place to begin than in Psalm 18, where Bruh David offers thanksgiving for deliverance from his many enemies. He begins by declaring (yesss!!!): ‘I will LOVE thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler (shield), and the horn (strength) of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.’ (Ps. 18:1-3) 

And my faithful brethren, we all know Bruh David’s story; the unfair treatment he received at the hands of many enemies, chief of them being King Saul, his unfortunate dalliance with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah, and the many other tough times he went through. But the Lord brought him safely through them all, though not without tough consequences for his disobedience. But that was because throughout it all, he never faltered from the faith of his forefathers, and kept on trusting and communicating with God despite all his misfortune. 

As I like to say, Bruh David knew on which side his bread was buttered, and never wavered from it. That’s why the Lord called him a friend and a man after his own heart. Now do we know on which side our bread is buttered, and do we stick with Christ, like white on rice, despite the many unfortunate and unfair things that happen to us, as well as the many wrongs we do? That’s a most necessary provision for receiving God’s protection my people! You can’t be jumping from pillar to post and back again, or sitting on the fence and expect to receive God’s protection. With Him, it’s ALL or Nothing at ALL! 

We can’t be wishy washy. For remember what James says: ‘A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.’ And that person who wavers and doubts will not receive anything from the Lord. (James. 1:6-7) Yes friends, we need to be like Moses told the Israelites a long time ago: ‘Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee nor forsake thee.’ (Deut. 31:6) 

Now that my brethren, that ought to be the basic foundation of our faith, one upon which we stand strong and steadfast, all armoured up with God’s spiritual protection. Namely: ‘the belt of truth around our waist, the breastplate of righteousness around our chest, our feet shod with the gospel of peace, the shield of faith to protect us from the fiery darts of the enemy, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, that’s the mighty word of God, which is sharper than any two-edged sword. And on top of all that we add prayer, supplication and perseverance! (Eph. 6:14-18) 

Mama Mia! Nothing can beat us when we are thus ensconced in God and His spiritual armour! So you see, we just can’t sit and wait for God’s protection, there are things we also need to do to enable it in this fallen and sinful world. And I’m chuckling here, because I wanted to include more scripture verses on the subject, and now we’re out of time and space. But that’s how I was led. And looking back on what we’ve said, I believe it’s all good. And just for good measure, (smile) we’ll offer some of those scriptures we had in mind. ‘Psalms 23, 121, 91, 34:19, 46:1. Isaiah 41:10. Joshua 1:7-9. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9. 

And finally, the words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, found in John 10: ‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck (snatch) them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck (snatch) them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.’ (John 10:27-30) Please note my fellow saints, that there, Jesus showed His total belief in the strength and power of His Father and so should we, if we expect to receive His awesome protection. 

Now let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking the divine help, which we so badly need. As one 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 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 unrest in our streets. 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 and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

And now, my people, if we desire to see positive results from our prayer, we need to do what we promised, namely turn from our evil ways and be faithful and trusting servants, good examples to those around us, with good motives filling our hearts. Much LOVE!

…our walk with Christ…is not a one way…but a two way street… 

P.S. Yes, it’s long…but good…and you like it, just as I do. (smile) Much LOVE! 

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