11 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a tongue lashing, Adam and Eve, answer to our prayer, cocktail, commitment, complain, conquerors, drives my engine, enthusiasm, Ethan, evil world, experience a letdown, faith, fellowship, forthrightness, friends, God's faithfulness, God's sure promises, gospel truth, grace, great is thy faithfulness, gung ho, his compassions fail not, holy spirit, humble servants, in due time, in the heavens, invincible, Jesus, joy, lies, LOVE, loving-kindness, make known thy faithfulness, March break, mercy, miserable tired, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, new every morning, not consumed, O Lord, reacheth into the clouds, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, renews our energy, rest, righteousness., saints, salvation, settled in heaven, sing of the mercies, spiritual armour, taunts, thy faithfulness, thy word, trust, ungodly world, unto all generations, weary souls, wiles, wisdom
Psalm 36:5. Thy mercy (LOVING-kindness), O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.
Stop it friends, stop it! Stop being miserable and tired on a Monday morning when you have to get up to go to work. You’ve known that from Friday evening when you stopped working, and if you had done what you’re supposed to do, get some rest and relaxation and fellowship with other believers on Sunday and refuelled your spirit, then you would be all ready and gung-ho to go out and labour diligently for Jesus this morning.
Yes, every so often we need a tongue lashing because we complain when we ought not to. (smile) But I guess that’s human nature. And to be truthful, regardless of how you prepare for Monday morning, when it does roll around, we still experience a letdown, a drop in that spiritual fervour we had ramped up for it.
But not to worry my faithful believers, our God is good and oh so faithful, and if we ask Him nicely (smile) to fix it, then He will. That’s His ever-faithful promise! So let’s do that right now nuh. Let’s ask Him in all sincerity and humility but confidently, to improve our spiritual fervour so we can diligently do His will. So as one strong voice, let’s pray that mighty prayer, our Monday Morning Battle Hymn.
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ And I can just see our eyes light up and our movements get brisk as we now move with a sense of purpose as the Holy Spirit renews our energy and commitment in answer to our prayer!
But that’s only for those of going to work. To those of us lying somewhere on a sandy beach in a warm climate enjoying the March Break, it just makes us chuckle as we raise an early morning cocktail to our lips, or get up and run into the brilliant blue waters and immerse ourselves in it! (smile) And I have to tell myself to shut up, because I’m just raising my own longing for some sea, salt, rum and sand!
In due time though…in due time the Lord will come through for me! I know He’s faithful! He’s done it before, so why won’t He do it again eh? No good reason my brethren. So let’s talk a li’l bit about God’s faithfulness this morning nuh. I experience it every day when I come to write the Bit, because it’s His faithfulness that drives my engine. But let’s see what some of the other more important saints had to say about it.
In Psalm 36 – The Steadfast LOVE of God – Bruh David describes it thus: ‘Thy mercy (LOVING-kindness), O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.’ (Ps.36:5) Yes friends, God’s faithfulness is as vast as the space between the earth and the clouds. And Bruh David should know about that, because he experienced it to the max; even when he did not deserve it!
Meanwhile the author of Psalm 119 declares (right ho): ‘For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled (stands firm) in heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth (stands). (Ps.119:89-90) Please note my people, that the Lord’s faithfulness is not only there for some, but for ‘ALL generations.’
It was there for Adam and Eve, it’s there for us, and it will be there for the last humans on planet earth, whenever the Lord decides to call it a day. So there’s no need to worry about having faith in Him. He’s the same yesterday, today and forever, and His promises are always kept. He has safer and better hands than All State. (smile)
Now hear how Ethan the Ezrahite puts it in his great Psalm – Psalm 89 – God’s sure promises to David. ‘I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. For I have said, Mercy (LOVING-kindness) shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.’ (Ps.89:1-2)
More acknowledgements of our God’s forthrightness and trust! And this March Break Monday morning we going to keep it short and sweet, so we’ll end with this most popular scripture that all of us LOVE to quote, but don’t truly believe when it really matters. Here these immortal words of Jeremiah: ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’ (Lam.3:22-23) And that’s the gospel truth!
But friends, yuh know what? We don’t need the old timers to really tell us how faithful our God is nuh, because most of us have experienced it in some form or fashion! And if we have experienced it, then why do we still doubt it and have problems accepting it as gospel truth eh? So please, let’s stop believing what the deceitful and evil world says nuh, and start believing what our God says! That’s wisdom of the highest order! Much LOVE!
…if you can’t have faith and trust…in the One who created you…then whom will you have them in eh…
04 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all thy getting, almighty god, ask God, aura of love, Bomb Competition, Carnival Monday, Christians, confidence, doubleminded man, doubting, enthusiasm, exalt wisdom, forsake her not, friends, get understanding, get wisdom, gives liberally, good doctrine, grin and bear it, holy spirit, humble servants, in Jesus name, instruction of a father, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, keep my commandments and live, let thy heart, lies, LOVE, love her, mas, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Ole Mas, promote thee, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, retain my words, reverential awe, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, steelband, taunts, the fear of the Lord, the principal thing, the sight of my mother, the words of my mouth, them's the breaks, trust, ungodly world, unstable, wavering, wiles, wisdom
Proverbs 4:7. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
And the clock ticks…and the seconds, minutes, hours and the days roll by…until they come to Monday…then they just seem to stop, to hang there in mid-air, as though everything suddenly gone in limbo! Oh how we wish that were true eh and we didn’t have to get up and get out and begin a new work week!
And for many of us it’s actually true because this is Carnival Monday, the beginning of the yearly bacchanalian festival in several parts of the world the two days before Ash Wednesday…but nothing to touch the Ole Mas celebration in T&T this Monday morning!
That is where you get real down and ‘dutty’ (dirty), playing in any ole and dirty looking costume, but making sure yuh ketch a steelband coming down the road beating a sweet bomb tune, so you and yuh lady and yuh friends and them could carry on in the street, wine down in the road, carray yuh body any ole how, (ramajay), and just get on bad and disgusting. (smile)
Well that use to be ole mas, don’t know what it morph into these days since I don’t take part in it again. Don’t even know if they still have Bomb Competition – the steelbands beating some favourite tune as they come out on the road Monday morning, vying for Best Bomb Tune. And ah laughing here as I remember some of them ole times.
But leh we move on yes, because some people have to go to work, and they even more distraught than ever because they missing carnival in T&T. So to help us all this Carnival Monday, let’s belt out we Monday Morning Battle Hymn, even if we heart not truly in it, and we mind somewhere down in T&T misbehaving in the road. (smile)
All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
And yeh friends, ah know we feeling better after that, but still…we’d rather be somewhere else partying, making a fool of we self, in the hot weather. But them’s the breaks, so we just have to grin and bear it and get out there and labour in Jesus name. Yeh, reminisce li’l bit every so often, but doh daydream the day away on the people work nuh, because then you’ll be stealing their time and Jesus wouldn’t approve of that. (smile)
Break the spell by telling yuhself that if God spare yuh life, next year Carnival not going to catch yuh up here in this cold weather, but in some warm, tropical climate playing a serious mas, and then seriously start saving yuh money and vacation time from now! And since I know plenty of you won’t like my suggestions, I’m turning to Cousin Sol to pass on a father’s wisdom. Hope you’ll listen to him, cause he was once the wisest man in the world.
‘Hear ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments and live.
Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline (turn away) from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: LOVE her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.’ (Prov.4:1-7)
Yes my brethren, wisdom, knowledge and understanding are the most important aspects of living a fruitful and sensible life. And how do we get all that? Friends, it begins with this warning from Cousin Sol: ‘The fear of the Lord (reverential awe) is the beginning of knowledge (principal beginning): but fools despise wisdom and instruction.’ (Prov.1:7)
Ah mih people, until and unless we revere the Lord God Almighty, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, true wisdom, knowledge and understanding will NEVER be ours. Why? Because that’s where it all comes from!
As James says: ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (without reproach); and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (not doubting). For he that wavereth (doubts) is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.’ (James 1:5-8)
Yuh see friends, a wise life all has to do with reverence for God, blended with sincere trust and faith in His Word, His promises and plans for our lives. And Cousin Sol ends that li’l speech by declaring (right ho): ‘Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou doest embrace her. She shall give to (place on) thine head an ornament of grace, a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.’ (Prov.4:8-9)
Yes my people, that’s how powerful and important true wisdom and understanding are in our lives. We talking about that wisdom and understanding which comes from and through God, not the worldly stuff. So stop with all the horrors about carnival! Now that we finally see the light nuh, leh we go and do the people work and forget about carnival, because that is what Jesus expects of us. (smile) Much LOVE!
…thinking too much about mas…is not a sign of true wisdom…(smile)
02 Mar 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundance, cursed, every good work, faith, give, good measure, grace abound, it shall be given unto you, LOVE, Malachi, open the windows of heaven, pour out a blessing, pressed down, reap sparingly, right attitude, robbed me, running over, same measure yu use, shaken together, sow sparingly, test the Lord, the crown of righteousness, the Lord of hosts, the tough get going, tithes, trust, when the going gets tough
Luke 6:38. Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom (pocket, wallet). For with the same measure that ye mete (use, give) withal it shall be measured to you again.
So now it’s Saturday, and I have to go to a friend’s funeral this morning. He’s been sick for some time now, and the Lord has finally decided to call him home. Rest in peace Hamilton my friend, as I remember the many good times we had so long ago. Those were the days when we were young and giddy, and life seemed like it would never end, at least the good times. But unfortunately all good things do come to an end at some stage of the game, some of us are just blessed to enjoy them longer.
And with the passing of every friend and colleague, we tend to take our mortality more seriously, knowing that it’s only a matter of time before our time will come. (smile) But until then we just have to go about the Lord’s business as best we can. And since it’s Saturday, that means it’s time to look at some quotes from our friend Anselm, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
Check out this first one: ‘You’re going to go through tough times – that’s life. But I say, ‘Nothing happens to you, it happens for you.’ See the positive in negative events.’ And there’s no disputing that! Jesus said it Himself that we’ll see trials and tribulations in this world, but we need to be of good cheer, because He has already defeated the world. (John 16:33)
Consequently, when tough things happen to us, we need to try and extract the positive aspects from them, because there are positive aspects in almost every occurrence. As Gramp’s Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) liked to say: ‘When the going get’s tough, the tough get going!’ And as Christians, faithful followers of Christ, that is exactly how we ought to respond to tough times!
Now hear this: ‘I believe if you keep your faith, you keep your trust, you keep the right attitude, if you’re grateful, you’ll see God open up new doors.’ There’s absolutely no argument with that nuh friends because that’s the way the Lord has set up His kingdom! And possibly the most famous scripture in the Good Book about opening and pouring out blessings is that verse from Malachi that we don’t like to hear, because it conjures up a lot of sacrifice on our part.
Hear the Lord’s accusation: ‘Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat (food) in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.’ (Mal.3:9-10)
Oh friends, we like to test the Lord in other ways, but not in tithing! (smile) However, we can be obedient in every other aspect of God’s word, and not in that of tithing, giving God ten percent of our income, we will NEVER be as blessed as we can be. We’re quick to distribute our time, talents and treasure to all different places, people and pursuits, but when it comes to giving God what is God’s, what He’s asked for from way back when, it’s like pulling teeth without anesthetic!
And sadly many churches are not preaching about that nowadays, figuring it’s Old Testament stuff, and wondering why they are not prospering as they expect. But friends, you can’t be faithful in some things and not others where God is concerned. You have to be faithful in EVERYTHING! That’s if you want to receive the crown of righteousness that the Lord has in store for you at the end of your race of life, like Bruh Paul says. (2 Tim. 4:6-8)
And all of that segues in nicely to this last quote: ‘When you focus on being a blessing, God makes sure that you are always blessed in abundance.’ And isn’t that the gospel truth my fellow believers! Jesus said it in plain and straightforward language in Luke: ‘Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom (pocket, wallet). For with the same measure that ye mete (use, give) withal it shall be measured to you again.’
In simple terms it’s merely that you have to sow before you can reap, and if you sow miserly, then you will reap miserly. As Bruh Paul expatiates on the subject (smile) to the church at Corinth: ‘But this I say, he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully (generously) shall reap also bountifully (generously). Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity (compulsion); for God LOVETH a cheerful (joyful) giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye always having sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.’ (2 Cor.9:6-8)
So friends, what more can I say eh? Nothing really, because it’s all spelled out there in black and white in plain language! All I can do now is hope this li’l exercise today will loosen the purse strings of our time, talent and treasure and cause us to be more giving to God and our fellow man…that is if we want to receive in abundance from God and others too! Much LOVE!
…how much you receive…all depends on how much you give…
26 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a great calm, according to your faith, all the days of my life, anointest my head with oil, be it unto you, be of good cheer, believers, beloved of God, cast into the oven, clothe you, comfort me, difficulties, do our part, dwell in the house of the Lord, encouragement, everyday we draw breath, evil, faith, fall in our laps, fall short, fear no evil, follow me, foolishness, for His name's sake, found so great a faith, friend jesus, God's attention, goodness and mercy, green pastures, he arose, he hard, he saith unto them, heretic Roman, hide my face, i have overcome the world, I shall not want, improve our faith, in all Israel, ingodliness, Israel, Jewish people, leads me, LOVE, Love of Jesus, manna from heaven, mine enemies, miracles, Moses' song, no faith, O ye of little faith, panicked, paths of righteousness, perverse generation, prepare a table before me, promises, rebuked the winds and the sea, resores my soul, Roman Centurion, share friendship, share His love, show that faith, small in faith, snow squalls, Solomon's glory, still waters, talk a good talk, the disciples, the grass of the field, The Lord is my shepherd, the men marvelled, the sea obey him, the valley of the shadow of death, thy rod and thy staff, trials, tribulations, trust, Tuesday Mantra, what their end shall be, why are ye fearful, wind stroms
Matthew 8:26. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea: and there was a great calm.
Well it’s Tuesday now, and the crazy wind storms and snow squalls that have harried us for the past couple days seem to have died down, but it’s still beastly cold, somewhere around –12 in my area. And I’m chuckling here because I know that during the inclement weather many of us were praying, trying to get God’s attention to stop it. Not me so much, because I was praying rather that He’d get me safely to where I was going, cause I got caught out in it a couple of times.
But this time I don’t think Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat nuh, He was wide awake and just waiting to see how we’d behave. And we behaved just like the disciples did when the storm caught them going across the lake and Jesus was resting quietly, ostensibly without a care in the world, but the disciples panicked:
‘And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea: and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him.’ (Matt.8:25-27) And that kind of behaviour from men who had been with Jesus for quite some time and seen Him do all sorts of miracles!
The point I’m trying to make here this morning friends is that too many of us supposed believers are still too small in faith like the disciples, though we have seen Jesus do great and extraordinary things in our lives! We talk a good talk about faith, but when the occasions come for us to show that faith, we always seem to fall short.
Why is that eh? Don’t we truly believe…or are we just scared and afraid of whatever comes against us? No, it’s not easy, and Jesus promised that we’d have trials and tribulations in this world…’But be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
Yes, and even with that encouragement, He knows that it will be hard for us, but He expects that our faith, which is supposed to grow each and every day we draw breath, will strengthen us and see us through whatever difficulties we encounter down here on earth!
And the sad part is that even before Jesus came, the Lord was dissatisfied with the faith of His people Israel, as outlined in the words of Moses’ song to the Israelites. ‘And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very forward (perverse) generation, children in whom is no faith.’ (Deut.32:20)
So I guess nothing much has changed sine way back then! And how many times did Jesus lambaste, castigate His people for not having the faith they should have eh? And there are several! Here are a couple of illustrations: In talking about nature versus Cousin Sol’s glory, nature won out every time. ‘Wherefore, if God so clothe(s) the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall ye not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?’ (Matt.6:30)
That means we ought not to worry and be anxious or fearful of what’s going to happen because we’re more important to our heavenly Father than nature, which He looks after so well. And when the Roman centurion came to Jesus, asking Him to heal his sick servant, and Jesus offered to go to his house and do so:
‘The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in all Israel.’(Matt.8:8-10)
Yeh friends, the servant was healed, not because of his own faith, but because of His master, the centurion’s faith. Jesus was just showing up there the foolishness of His Jewish people who refused to accept t Him for who and what He proclaimed to be, but this supposedly heretic Roman, had no problem with doing so! And He’s doing the same thing today my people; crying out to us to truly believe and have the faith that belief ought to instill in us, but which seems to be sadly lacking!
Remember the words of the great psalm that we all like to quote: ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters: He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil: my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.’ (Ps.23:1-6)
Oh my people, how do you think all of that wonderful stuff, those mighty and awesome promises are going to happen eh? They won’t just fall into our laps like manna from heaven nuh, but we’ve got to believe them and have the faith to expect and do our part to allow them to happen.
So please my brethren, please let us improve our faith nuh, starting today, RIGHT NOW, both for our sakes and the sake of Jesus’ church, for if we don’t do better very soon, our world will surely fall apart with all the ungodliness and evil that’s currently being foisted upon it.
And having said all of that, let’s go home declaring (right ho) our Tuesday Mantra, telling the world, loud and clear, who and whose we are. In strong and sincere faith now: ‘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!’
And the corollary to that is for us to now go out and share the friendship and LOVE of Jesus with those who don’t know Him, but desperately need to! Much LOVE!
…according to your faith…be it unto you… (Matt.9:29)
21 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: as eagles, awesome promise, blessings, compassionate heart, creator of, curse, disrupt our souls, ever-faithful, forgiveness, freezing rain, Gentiles, gives power to the weak, grace, hold on tightly, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, Most High God Jehovah, mount up, negative word, prosper, renew their strength, run and not be weary, searching of his understanding, share our blessings, snowstorm, succeed, the ends of the earth, the everlasting God, the hand of Jesus, the Lord's love, Thursday Blessings, trust, wait on the Lord, walk and not faint, with wings
Isaiah 40:31. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Ah Lord eh friends, the enemy knows just how to get our souls disrupted yes! After behaving so well the last few days, my obstinate desktop decided to play the fool again! Steups! And me like a bloody fool, kept working on it to see if it would come through for me, because I don’t like writing the Bit on this laptop. But I finally had no choice but to do so. So here I am trying to write in a hurry because I’ve got to go into the big city of T.O for a doctor’s appointment this morning.
Oh Lord, when will they ever end eh? And I got the answer: ‘When I am finished rebuilding you!’ It couldn’t be any clearer than that I guess. (smile) The only good thing about that though is that I’m not driving – buses and taxis will be the order of the day, because driving into T.O at any time of the day is just too frustrating. And it might even cost less by public transportation, especially in the context of my emotional well-being. (smile)
And today we’re going to talk on a well known scripture that I badly need this morning: ‘Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint (weak); and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fail: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ (Is.40:28-31)
Oh friends, the ole fella desperately needs that scripture to take place in his soul body and mind this morning, as I go out to face the unfavourable elements. The snowstorm that was forecasted hasn’t shown its ugly face as yet, but a freezing kind of rain did show up, and that is potentially more dangerous than the snow. And I really don’t want to cancel today’s appointment because I want to check out some stuff with the doctor, plus my first born has already warned me not to cancel any appointments, because she knows my penchant for cancelling them, especially in bad weather. (smile) So I’m trying to be obedient and follow directions.
But my people, where else can we finds such an awesome promise eh? NOWHERE ELSE! And not only is the promise made, but it’s also guaranteed to come true because the Lord is ever-faithful to keep ALL of His promises! Yes my faithful brethren, only in the Word of the Most High God Jehovah do such promises proliferate and will be made to come true! Praise His holy name for His exceeding LOVING-kindness to us disobedient and sinful children of man!
If we didn’t have the Lord’s LOVE on our side we’d be headed straight for Hades and eternal hell fire with the enemy. But thanks to His big heart, plentiful mercy, grace and forgiveness we have the amazing opportunity through His Son, Jesus Christ to live a different kind of life, with salvation and heaven as our eternal home! Wow! So I really don’t understand why mankind refuses to come to and firmly attach themselves to our Lord and Saviour nuh. It’s the only place of sincere trust available in this life! The world and it’s evil style won’t be doing anything with lasting good for us, ONLY Jesus has that power and promise!
Now here this other awesome promise relayed through Isaiah concerning us Gentiles in particular: ‘Thus saith the Lord God, Behold I will lift up mind hand (make and oath) to the Gentiles, and set up my standard (banner) to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms (bosom), and thy daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers (foster fathers), and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their faces toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.’ (Is .49:22-23)
And many of us know about waiting on the Lord, because we have experienced His mercy and goodness when we’ve done it, but unfortunately we allow the business and the now for now nature of the evil world to get into our souls and prevent us from doing what we know is right – waiting on the Lord! Yeh friends, it’s not always easy to be obedient and wait, but if we sincerely hope, have faith and trust in Him, then we’ll be able to do it. Remember, it’s all for our benefit, not His!
And we’re going to stop there for today, as I have to go and get myself together to go out the street. But please, please, I implore us to hold on tightly to the hand of Jesus if we want to be led aright. And yuh better believe this morning going down the street I’ll be holding on ever so tightly, that He couldn’t shake me off even if He wanted to! (smile) That’s the kind of faith and trust we need to exhibit in this evil world my brethren!
Now let’s declare (right ho) our Thursday Blessings in loud voice, with plenty chutzpah and sincerity: ‘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!’
And having made those statements, let’s now go out and share those awesome blessings with those less fortunate than us, because that’s why they were granted to us in the first place! Much LOVE!
…hurrying doesn’t give time to accomplish much…but waiting has the ability to do so…
12 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a refuge from the storm, a sense of calm, a strength to the needy, At the cross, at their wit's end, because of trouble, brighten our latter years, brings them out of their distresses, calm, calm waters, Calvary, common sense, Controller, Creator, cry unto the Lord, do business, encouraging words, evil cohorts, exalt him, faith, fear, friend of Jesus, go down to the sea, great waters, he makes the storm a calm, his goodness, hurry, in ships, in the congregation, inhumane climate, Jesus, Lake Ontario, like a drunken man, LOVE, mount up to heaven, O ye of little faith, personal experience, Praise the Lord, prayed, raises the stormy wind, rebuked the winds, redeemed, reel to and fro, ruthless nations, sacrifice, Satan, see the works of the Lord, shake like an earthquake, share His love, share jesus' love, shivering of the timbers, stagger, storm, strong people, terror, the assembly of elders, the Good Book, the storm calmer, the time of storm, the waves are still, the winds and the sea obey him, their desired haven, their soul is melted, they are glad, they be quiet, this universe, to the children of men, to the depths, trust, Tuesday Mantra, unhealthy for old folks, what manner of man is this, wonderful works, wonders in the deep, worry
Psalm 107:29. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
‘When the storms of life rage all around me, I have no cause to fear, because I have Jesus, the storm-calmer walking beside me. And if He chooses not to calm the storms when I desire, He calms my fears, so that I can ride out the storms with a peaceful soul. Praise His Holy name!’
Yes friends, more stormy weather is forecasted for these parts today, but as we said above, that we believers can face any storm because we have the great storm-calmer Jesus Christ, living within us and working for us. So though we may be physically discombobulated, our souls stay calm and free, evermore praising His holy name.
But nonetheless my brethren, this weather see-saw is ridiculous yes. And not only in terms of the weather itself, but more so of my having to put up with all of it. Brother! I promised the Duchess that we’re not spending a whole winter up here again, because the weather is just too crazy, and being locked up inside for long periods of time is definitely unhealthy for us old folks. (smile)
And despite whatever ailments I have or doctor’s appointments, from next year we’ll spend some time out of this inhumane climate, getting the sea, salt, sand and sunshine we need to brighten our latter years. (smile) And since we’ve been talking about storms all morning, we might as well continue on the topic with some encouraging words from the Good Book.
Listen to these wonderful words from Psalm 107 – God’s wonderful works to the children of men. ‘They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; They see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end (all their wisdom is swallowed up). Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.’ (Ps.107:23-30)
Yeh friends, that is exactly how it is! I can tell you from personal experience about riding those stormy waves in a li’l boat out on Lake Ontario many years aback. I can personally attest to the mounting up to heaven on the big waves, then being dashed down in to the deep. I always used to read about the trembling, the shivering of the timbers, well that day I discovered what it really meant.
When the boat dropped from the top of the high wave and landed splat on the bottom, you could feel everything just shake like an earthquake. And on board that day were drunken men, thankfully I wasn’t one of them, but they prayed, possibly like never before in their lives, and the Lord eventually brought us through to calm waters.
So I know what the psalmist is talking about, and so do many of you, that’s why I’m amazed that we don’t do as he recommends: ‘Oh that men would praise (give thanks to) the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.’ (Ps.107:31-32)
That is only common sense my people, if we agree that God is the Creator and Controller of this universe. But we look real foolish when we spout that info, then go against all that the Lord stands for! We ought to be praising and exalting Him, with all our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, because that is the major reason we were created in the first place! Not to doubt and ridicule and blaspheme His holy name!
Now listen to how Isaiah puts it in the song of praise by the redeemed. ‘Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible (ruthless) nations shall fear thee. For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.’ (Is.25:3-4)
Oh my people, we are the redeemed! That means we’re supposed to be strong and glorify the Lord who caused us to be redeemed through the sacrifice of His son Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary! So why aren’t we doing better eh? Why are we allowing Satan and his evil cohorts to take over and rule our souls eh, when Jesus paid such a high price for us?
And I guess the answer can only be found in the immortal words of Jesus, when the disciples in their fear and terror during a stormy ship crossing, awoke Jesus sleeping quietly in the back of the boat, ‘saying, Lord, save us, we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!’ (Matt.8:25-27)
And that after being with Jesus for so long and seeing all the miracles He performed! But we’re doing the same thing today, so we can’t really judge them. Anyway friends, for those of us who are trying to be faithful and true, let’s go home today declaring (phew! wrong again) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole wide world know who and whose we are.
In strong voice, with a strong sense of purpose: ‘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!’
And the next step is to go out and share that trusting friendship and awesome LOVE with the folks who don’t know or have it. Much LOVE!
…in the time of storm…ONLY Jesus can bring a sense of calm…
11 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: always before me, antidote, aura of love, awesome love, confidence, Day of Pentecost, death, disobedient children, encouragement, enthusiasm, ever-faitful Deity, evil, faithfulness, foothold, friends, full of mouth, hardhearted, he is at my right hand, hell, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, I have set the Lord, I shall not be moved, immersing ourselves, in thy presence, invincible, is fullness of joy, Jerusalem, Jesus, joy, lies, LOVE, meditation, Monday blues, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, my flesh, my glory rejoiceth, my heart is glad, Peter, prayer, prophecy, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, sacrifice his son, Satan, satanic majesty, see corruption, shall rest in hope, speaking the word, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, stubborn, taunts, the cross at Calvary, the grave, the Lord's help, the path of life, the Word of god, thine Holy One, trust, truth, unconditional LOVE, ungodly world, wisdom, wrecking ball
Psalm 16:8. I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Yeh mih breddren, I know Monday has rolled around again, and with it has come those dreaded Monday Blues; thoughts and worries and concerns released into our systems by our macabre enemy to steal our joy, our hope, our strength and our wonderful faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
He knows that if he can just instill some doubt and insecurity in our souls and spirits he will be able to get some sort of foothold in our lives.
However friends, we need to deny the devil that touch of victory, deny him any victory at all! And the only way we can do that is by immersing ourselves in the Word of the Lord, in prayer and meditation and speaking that Word out loud to rebuke his satanic majesty.
We all know that Satan is only full of mouth, and once we stand up to him, with Jesus by our side, he runs and hide, because he knows he can’t win any battles involving Jesus. In fact he’s already been defeated in the war over death, hell and the grave!
Wow! Our Lord and Saviour Jesus won it hands down when He rose majestic and victorious on Easter Sunday morn! Glory to the Father for His most wonderful and unconditional LOVE for us His stubborn, hardhearted and disobedient children, which caused Him to sacrifice His ONLY Son on our behalf!
Oh friends, our God is a great and ever-faithful Deity yes! And I say that as I chuckle here, because when I came to write, I had no idea of what I was going to write, not even how to open the Bit. But as you can see from the above stuff, with the Lord’s help and encouragement the words and ideas just flowed! (smile)
So how can I ever doubt Him eh? And I’m offering you the glorious opportunity to also have Him be a major part of your life, so that you too can personally experience, His awesome LOVE and faithfulness. And we’ll show you some of that faithfulness as we come to Him and ask Him to drive away those awful Monday Blues and enliven our souls and spirits once again.
So let’s declare (right ho) our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, the antidote, the wrecking ball for those tired and listless feelings with full sincerity and a true sense of purpose, because, without those two elements, it won’t work.
All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh yes my people, our God is good! And I know that you are feeling that rebirth, that refuelling of the Holy Spirit in your lives, because I too am feeling it in mine! Glory to God! So now we can truly get out into that evil world and fight a good fight in Jesus’ name, like we’ve been destined to do!
And I was also led to some most appropriate scripture to go along with all the other aspects of our Bit. Listen to these words, heart-stopping, sincere, and ever so wise words from Bruh David, as he seeks preservation and blessing from the God of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
‘I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest (dwell) in hope.
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (Sheol, the abode of the dead); neither wilt thou suffer (allow) thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.’ (Ps.16:8-11)
Oh friends, all of that is oh so true because Jesus came and did it all! He won the victory over hell, death and the grave, and showed the path of life, letting us know that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, as well as the everlasting Light that engulfs God’s universe, and that ONLY through Him can we ever come to the Father. And when we partner with Him, there is everlasting joy and pleasure, earthly and heavenly, waiting for us.
Now what can be better than all that eh friends? Who else can provide all of that in ONE body eh? Only Jesus Christ! So there is much wisdom in coming to know and adore, admire and live for Him.
And besides, to prove that those words of Bruh David weren’t empty words, Peter preached them in his great sermon on the Day of Pentecost, (Acts 2:25-28) letting the people of Jerusalem and all its visitors know that Jesus Christ had indeed brought that prophecy to fruition by His selfless, once and for all sacrifice of Himself on the cross at Calvary.
So please friends, today, let’s take heart, courage and strength from the wondrous works of Jesus as He full well desires us to do. Much LOVE!
…to receive all that heaven offers…one must give all of oneself to Christ…
04 Feb 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a heart-stopping event, a rushing mighty wind, antidote, aura of love, cloven tongues, communicating with the Father, confidence, Day of Pentecost, dream dreams, enthusiasm, evil, excited to work for Jesus, faith, faithfulness, filled with the Holy Ghost, flood warnings, friends, God's promises, Great Tribulation, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, invincible, it shall come to pass, Jesus Christ, Joel, lies, LOVE, millennial kingdom, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, not drunken, of much repute, old men, omnipotent god, on all flesh, passed the test, peace, Peter, pour out my Spirit, prophecy, prophesy, put a smile on our faces, renewed vitality, rest, roll with the punches, see visions, speak with other tongues, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, taunts, testimony, third hour of the day, trust, truth, ungodly world, up to scratch, wiles, wisdom, work, young men, your sons and daughters
Joel 2:28. 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 after the snow and the freezing cold, come the rain and the flood! Yeh friends, flood warnings have been issued in these parts for the next couple days due to the quickly melting snow and the rain accompanying it. As they say, when it’s not one thing, it’s another!
But that’s just life, and we have to roll with the punches, and as believers in Christ we are better prepared to do that than most of the population, so there should be no cause for overly serious concern.
Nonetheless, we’re only human and still liable to fall prey to the deceitful whispers of the enemy, which means we’re somewhat less than up to scratch this wet and rainy Monday morning. (smile) But it’s all good, for we have just the right pick-me-up to solve your problem; that’s our Monday Morning Battle Hymn; antidote of much repute!
So without further ado, let’s get seriously, but humbly and confidently communicating with the Father. As one body now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
There you go friends, matter fixed! We’re bright and bubbly now as the Holy Spirit works in us to put a smile on our faces, strength and confidence in our hearts and souls and have us excited to go out now and work for Jesus! Wow! What a transformation can take place when the Spirit of the Lord God Jehovah goes to work in His children! There’s nothing else like it in this whole wide world!
And that points us to God’s promise of that future event through the prophet Joel: ‘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 then Joel goes on to prophesy about the things that will go on during the Great Tribulation and the establishment of the earthly Davidic millennial kingdom that follows the events of the Great Tribulation. However, we’re only interested here in the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon all flesh, and we all know that happened on the miraculous Day of Pentecost!
What a majestic showing that was mih people! Nobody can put on a show like our omnipotent God nuh! Can you imagine sitting down in that room with the disciples, and all of a sudden you hear this sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind which then proceeded to fill the whole house? (Acts 2:2) I know they were all waiting for and anticipating the coming of the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised, but I doubt that they were expecting it to be so such a heart-stopping event.
And the mighty rushing wind wasn’t all, for as the Good Book tells it: ‘And there appeared unto them cloven (divided) tongues like as of fire. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.’ (Acts 2:3-4)
And can you imagine the confusion when these uneducated men from the surrounding area came out and began speaking in the languages of the different Jews who had come to Jerusalem for the big feast? They were all amazed, some even claimed that they were drunk: ‘Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.’ (Acts 2:13)
But that’s when Peter gave his great speech: ‘ But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said, unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day (9.am). But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;’ (Acts 2:14-16) And then he goes on to specify the words of our Bit and the rest of Joel’s prophecy.
So you see friends, it’s not wise to write off any of God’s promises, especially if He doesn’t give a definite time frame, for remember His thoughts and ways and times are not like ours, so some of those promises could be earmarked for hundreds of years later, like that of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon all believers.
Now I sincerely hope we have all been encouraged some this Monday morning, and that our faith has also been strengthened by this review of one of God’s great promises! So please hang in there and don’t ever give up, even when things seem like they can’t get any worse, because they can always get better when our hope and trust and faith are safely placed in our Triune God! Much LOVE!
…logic dictates…that when you’re at the bottom…the only place left to go is up…and Jesus can…and will reach down and pull you up…
P.S. I’m chuckling here as I just realized that I passed the test, and thus have a testimony! Hear it nuh. The ole fella had a rough night, and so was one of those in the not up to scratch group today, (smile) and was really struggling to write the Bit. But I hung in, didn’t give up, and yuh see how Jesus eventually reached down and pulled me up out of the mire and helped me to write something sensible. (smile) Bless His holy name and His faithfulness! That means He can and will do the same for you too. Much LOVE!
28 Jan 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a different take, a fish, a serpent, accustomed, all things, ask, ask amiss, ask for in prayer, ask god for help, aura of love, awesome power of prayer, believe the best, believers, believing, confidence, contented, covet, earthly pleasures, enthusiasm, evil, experience the worst, faith, fervent prayer, fight, find, frequent prayer, friends, genuine prayer, get into your blood, give good gifts, glorious kingdom, have not, heartfelt pleas, heavenly Father, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, invincible, James, Jesus Christ, joy, kill, knock, lies, lifted spirits, LOVE, lust, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, motives, no excuse for failure, northern climes, overcome all odds, perseverance, prayer, receive, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, right motives, sad, Seasonal Affective disorder, seek, shall receive, sincere heart, smiles, spiritual armour, spiritual success, steadfast faith, striving with each other, sullen reply, the power of the Holy spirit, tired with it, treat others, trust, truth, ungodly world, war, will be opened, wisdom, work for Jesus, wrestling with God, ye ask not
Matthew 21:22. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Well my Scrip-Bit brethren, in these northern climes, it’s a chilly Monday morning out there! Yes, it’s winter, so what else do you expect eh? ‘Oh we tired with it!’ comes the sullen reply. ‘Chuh! We tired with the snow and the ice…and the cold…and all the other problems that winter bring!’ But that’s nothing new eh? It’s something you ought to be accustomed to by now…
‘Foolishness!’ is the angry reply. ‘Who could ever get accustomed to that nonsense eh, much less like it? That’s why they call it the winter of our discontent! Every blooming time it comes around we discontented, so much so that we get sad and miserable and develop the winter blues, what they now call some big name…can’t even remember the blooming thing…Oh…Seasonal Affective Disorder! Yes, it happens every winter season, so how you could tell me about being accustomed and contented eh?’
And there is a point to be made there my people. When the dark, gloomy, often sunless, snowy and slippery days get into your blood, it’s hard to be enthused about the weather, especially if you have to be getting around on P2 (on foot). But as believers in Jesus Christ we have a somewhat different take on the situation (smile).
We are encouraged to believe the best, even when we experience the worst. Now that’s not easy to do, or even comprehend, but with the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, if we’re serious, we can overcome all odds.
And for those of us who are shaking it rough this Monday morning, let’s apply some salve to our wounds nuh; let’s declare our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, call upon the omnipotence and mercy of our heavenly Father to give us some succour down here on a turbulent and ungodly earth.
All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
And yuh see friends, our prayer has barely reached up to heaven when it’s quickly answered! Note the smiles on our faces now; the lifting up of our spirits, and the desire to get out there and work diligently and excellently for Jesus! That’s what we call the awesome power of prayer! With sincere heart, right motives and strong belief, any and everything is possible in Jesus’ realm!
But the responsibility to call out for help, through prayer, remains solely in our hands. If we don’t ask in prayer, we won’t get. And that needs the power of belief, both to get us to pray, and also for us to expect whatever we’re praying for to happen. And Jesus says it quite plainly in our Bit: ‘And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’
Oh my people, please remember that TWO conditions are necessary there; asking for in prayer, and believing. If those two aren’t present, then all bets are off. As Jesus also said earlier on: ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?’ (Matt.7:7-11) What an interesting question my people! And yuh see how Jesus builds up to it, ever the logical philosopher! (smile)
Now hear these explanations from the scholars: ‘7:7-10. The three imperatives ask, seek, and knock are in the present tense of the original language, suggesting both perseverance and frequent prayer. Fervent and continued prayer is to be made on behalf of those for whom we are concerned. God promises to answer all genuine prayer (vs.8). Everything we need for spiritual success has been promised to us. God leaves no excuse for failure.’
Yes friends, we have no excuses if we don’t pray, or if our prayer requests fail. As James, in his two cents worth on the topic declares, (wrong again): ‘Ye lust, and have not: ye kill (murder), and desire to have (covet), and cannot obtain: ye fight and war (battle), yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts (earthly pleasures).’ (James 4:2-3)
It couldn’t be any plainer than that nuh my fellow believers. We either don’t ask, or ask for the wrong things, for the wrong purposes, and ‘instead of wrestling with God in prayer,’ we ‘are striving with one another.’
So today, let’s consider our lives nuh, both our earthly relationships as well as our prayer life. Let’s ponder on how we treat others and the things we ask for and the motives behind them. Then as always, let’s ask God for His help to do better. He will NEVER refuse such heartfelt pleas! Much LOVE!
…if the heart and the purpose are not right…then Lord will obviously say NO…
22 Jan 2019
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a lean mean fighting machine, a little while, a precious message, ask for, believe, cast not away, courage fails, destruction, disregard the darkness, done the will of god, draw back, dwelling in our hearts, earthly journey, endurance, enlightening, faith, fear, feeling, follow the world, for someone else, friend of Jesus, friendsip, glory to God, God's promises, God's timing, great recompense, guiding, have need of patience, hope, hunky dory, imagine, immutable word, in a hurry, in the light, insecurity, joy, lead us astray, leading, listen, live by faith, logic, LOVE, Love of Jesus, misguided attempt, negative circumstances, northern climes, not by sight, One Year Book of Bible promises, Oswald Chambers, overwhelming, perdition, prayer, receive the promise, reward, rich, Ruth Harms Calkin, share, smile, stands firm, the good fight of faith, the Holy Spirit, the just, the realm of prayer, the saving of the soul, times of questioning, timetable, trials, tribulations, trust, trusting seems difficult, Tuesday Mantra, unfaithfulness, unwise, wait for an answer, wasted commodities, we walk by faith, will not tarry, your confidence
Hebrews 10:35-36. Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience (endurance), that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
Oh my people, the ole fella went to bed pretty late last night – or this morning, if you will, and consequently, as a direct result of that unwise decision, he therefore arose pretty late this morning! What beautiful logic! (smile) He arose to another bright and deliciously cold day, with wind and snow promised sometime in the later hours of the day. So for those of you operating in these inhumane northern climes, please be careful coming home from work this afternoon, or if you have to go out at that hour.
But yuh know what friends, none of that really matters when we have the Holy Spirit of Jesus dwelling deep in our hearts, leading and guiding us on this our earthly journey! Glory to God! We can trust and depend on His holy guidance not to lead us astray, because Christ promised it, and many of us have also experienced it!
And talking about promises, here is this excerpt from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that expatiates (smile) on ‘God’s Promises.’ Please read with me: ‘With increasing joy I am discovering that God’s promises do not suddenly disappear when our courage fails and our fears become overwhelming. Feeling or no feeling, when God gives a promise that speaks directly to our need, it stands firm regardless of negative circumstances.
There may be times of questioning, and we may not understand God’s timing, but His promise remains certain through our deepest trial. If we consistently rely on His immutable (unchangeable) Word, we can disregard the darkness. Oswald Chambers (the great Christian writer) says, “Are you in the dark right now regarding your circumstances? Then listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else when you are in the light.” God waits for us to trust Him when trusting seems the most difficult thing of all.’
Yeh friends, that’s how our God operates! It’s in the rough and dark times that He expects our trust and faith to shine through! And thinking logically about it, it’s really in those times of trials and tribulations that faith and trust are really necessary. In the good times we don’t need them as much, because everything’s hunky dory!
It’s like hope; why need hope for something that you already see eh? (smile) And my people, a lot of our unfaithfulness and insecurity stems from our failure to listen to God! Yes, He does speak to us in so many ways; through His Holy Spirit, through circumstances and even through others! But in our misguided attempt to follow the world and rush through everything, we don’t take time to listen to our heavenly Father, and thus, sadly, we miss out on a lot of good stuff He has in store for us.
And we see that oh so much in the realm of prayer; where we cry out to God, expect Him to hear us, and He always does, but then we don’t wait for His answer, we rush on to the next thing. Oh friends, when we’re talking to another human being, don’t we wait for an answer from them? Sure, some of us do! (smile)
Well it’s the same thing with God; why cry out to Him for help and then don’t wait to hear what He has to say on the matter eh? That’s totally unwise. But we’re always in a hurry, want everything now for now! Unfortunately though God does not operate on our timetable, we ought to learn to operate on His, and wait for His timing.
Yes, it often involves a long wait, as I’ve been experiencing over the last two years with all my illnesses, waiting for Him to bring it all together and heal me. It’s been slow, in my opinion, but definitely not in His. And I can see and feel things moving along…yes slowly…but by the same token I’m believing that by the end of this year of 2019, I’ll be a lean, mean, fighting machine!
Wow! Glory to our wonderful God who gives us all that we ever need…and even more than we can ask for imagine! Give Him some awesome praise my people! Yeh friends, what’s the point of having faith and not showing it eh? None whatsoever! But that’s exactly what too many of us believers are unwisely doing. Things like faith and LOVE, and trust and hope are action words, otherwise they are wasted commodities!
And our Bit for today, which is the same scripture Promise for the writing above, tells us that in no uncertain terms. ‘Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience (endurance), that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.’ (Heb.10:35-36) And that’s oh so true my people!
However, as the writer of Hebrews continues, quoting the prophet Habakkuk and other writers: ‘For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry (delay). Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition (destruction); but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.’ (Heb.10:37-38)
Oh give glory to God my brethren, that we are people of active faith and solidly believe that our souls have been, and will continue to be saved! Now let’s show that by boldly, loudly and sincerely declaring (got it right) our Tuesday Mantra, which tells the world in no uncertain terms, who and whose we are.
Altogether now: ‘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!’
Now, by that same faith we’ve just declared, let’s go out and share that friendship and LOVE of Jesus, as He so greatly desires of us! Much LOVE!
…fight the good fight of faith…for we walk by faith…not by sight… (1 Tim.6:12a, 2 Cor.5:7).
P.S. Yeh, it’s a tad late, but oh so rich and enlightening! (smile) Much LOVE!
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