23 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all knees must bow, an instrument of ten strings, binds up their wounds, Calvary, care, casts the wicked down to the ground, Charles Wesley, compassion, eternal life, eternity, exalted, faithfulness, fellowship, free gift of grace, God's understanding is infinite, grace, gratitude, Hallelujah, harp, heals the broken in heart, helpless soul, intercessor, Israel, It is a good thing to give thanks to god, Jesus, judgement, justice, King of Kings, lifteth up the meek, Lord of all, Lord of Lords, lover of my soul, loving-kindness, O most High, peculiar treasure, praise is comely, Praise ye the Lord, refuge, Rejoice in the Lord, Resurrection Sunday, righteousness, sacrifices of praise, safe haven, salvation, selfless sacrifice, servants of the lord, sincerity, sing praises to his name, teach me thy statutes, thanksgiving, the court of heaven, the goodness of the Lord, the humble, the name above all names, the Sabbath Day, the tempest, to the glory of God, to thy bosom fly, tongues declare, truth, vanity of idols, wisdom
Psalm 92:1. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High.
Oh friends, this Sunday morning, the first after Resurrection Sunday, we’ll lead off with our Bit, because it comes from a song for the Sabbath Day, and is simply the most appropriate way to begin our fellowship.
‘It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High. To show forth (declare) thy LOVING-kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery (lute, or lyre); upon the harp with a solemn (harmonious or melodic) sound. For thou Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the work of thy hands.’ (Ps.92:1-4)
And having said all that, now let’s give thanks and sing praises to our wonderful God whose care and compassion for us can NEVER be matched. So let’s allow sincere sacrifices of praise to emanate from our mouths as we sing this Charles Wesley favourite ‘Jesus LOVER of my Soul.’
In full voice now, in harmonious and melodic sound: ‘Jesus, LOVER of my soul, let me to thy bosom fly, while the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high; hide me, O my Savior, hide, till the storm of life is past; safe into the haven guide, O receive my soul at last! Other refuge have I none; hangs my helpless soul on thee; leave, ah! leave me not alone, still support and comfort me.
All my trust on thee is stayed, all my help from thee I bring; cover my defenseless head with the shadow of thy wing. Plenteous grace with thee is found, grace to cover all my sin; let the healing streams abound; make and keep me pure within. Thou of life the fountain art; freely let me take of thee; spring thou up within my heart, rise to all eternity.’
Oh my fellow believer, there’s no safer place of rest and refuge in this universe than in the bosom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! He is the safest of safe havens, the best guide in stormy times and the most trustworthy of all Beings! Through Him ONLY is the free gift of grace with salvation and eternal life found!
He is the only true conduit to our heavenly Father, as well as our Chief Intercessor in the court of heaven. What a mighty Being is our Jesus; King of Kings and Lord of Lords, whom the Father exalted for His selfless sacrifice on our behalf at Calvary, giving Him the name above all other names, and before whom all knees must bow and tongues declare that He is Lord of all, to the glory of God! Hallelujah my faithful brethren!
No wonder the psalmists declare that our God is worthy of infinite praise and thanks. Listen to Psalm 147 – Great is our God and of great power. ‘Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah): for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely (beautiful)’ (Ps.147:1) And singing praises to out magnificent and magnanimous God is indeed pleasant and beautiful! Why?
Hear the psalmists declare it. ‘The Lord doth build up Jerusalem; he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel. He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds (sorrows). He telleth (counts) the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite (limitless). The Lord lifteth up the meek (humble): he casteth the wicked down to the ground. Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God.’ (Ps.147:2-7)
And if our God is so great and wonderful and powerful and does all the things the psalmist says, then we should indeed sing His praises with much gratitude and plenty thanksgiving!
And if all of that did not move you, then hear these immortal words from Psalm 135 – The greatness of the Lord and the vanity (futility) of idols. ‘Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the name of the Lord; praise him, O ye servants of the Lord. Ye that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, Praise ye the Lord, for the Lord is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant (it is indeed). For the Lord has chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar (special) treasure. For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.’ (Ps.135:1-5)
And if you believe all of that friends, then you ought to be singing much praise and thanks to your heavenly Father! And we’ll close with these momentous words from Psalm 33 – Praise to the Lord for his creation.
‘Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely (beautiful) for the upright. Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise (shout of joy). For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth. He LOVETH righteousness and judgement (justice): the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.’ (Ps.33:1-5)
And that’s today’s message my people. Please take it to heart in all wisdom and sincerity, for it is the gospel truth! Much LOVE!
…thou art good…and doest good…teach me thy statutes… (Ps.119:68)
22 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a false start, a smile, a special gift from God, abhor that which is evil, aspires, bad blood, being obedient, believe, born to fail, Christ's Church, christianity, conduct, denominations, despair, dissimulation, disunity, ego, errands, eternal life, evil, faith, fear, floating through the day, follower of Jesus, free gift of salvation, genuine, grow successfully, habits, harmony, hate evil, he delivers them, hope, housework, hypocrisy, inspires, looking back, LOVE, much of nothing, positive action, positivity, reconciled, resentment, saints, Saturday, selfishness, success, surrendering, sync, the belief, the hand of the wicked, the Lord preserves the souls of his saints, the new day, trusting, truth, unfeigned love, unity, volitional caring, welcome every morning, ye that love the Lord, ying and yang
Psalm 97:10. Ye that LOVE the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
So friends, what have you got planned for your Saturday eh; housework and errands, or just lazily floating through the day, doing much of nothing, trying to get your ying and yang back into some kind of sync, after a hard week at work?
To be honest, I believe the last option is the preferable one, although the first might be the smarter and wiser of the two, since you’ll most likely have to do that housework and run those errands at some later date. But not to worry, rest and relaxation are absolutely necessary to renew your energy, so that you are able to do those household tasks and run the many errands without any problems. (smile)
Anyway, since it’s Saturday, let’s see if we can’t provoke some thought in our lazy minds by turning to a few quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
Listen to this beauty nuh: ‘Welcome every morning with a smile. Look on the new day as another special gift from your Creator, another golden opportunity to complete what you were unable to finish yesterday. Be a self-starter. Let your first hour set the theme of success and positive action that is certain to echo through your entire day. Today will never happen again. Don’t waste it with a false start or no start at all. You were not born to fail.’
Oh friends, I couldn’t give any better advice than that! And the sad part is that a lot of us know that advice quite well, but we simply don’t implement it. That leads to this quote: ‘Being positive or negative, are habits of thoughts that strongly affect your actions and your life.’ More indisputable truth my brethren!
And that brings up this gem: ‘Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.’
That is the positive aspect of life speaking there again, which brings us to this last quote. ‘Positive and negative are directions that lead to different outcomes. Which direction do you choose?’
And that’s the all-important question we must ask ourselves this Saturday morning: will we spend our lives being positive or negative, looking ahead with hope and faith, or with fear and despair? Unfortunately friends, no one can answer that question for us, we have to make a conscious decision for ourselves.
And I’d just like to add my two cents worth here: choosing the positive aspect of life is much better, especially if you are a believer in, and a follower of Jesus because that’s what His whole ministry is based on; positivity!
Not fearing, not looking back, trusting and surrendering, being obedient to one’s Creator, having faith in Jesus Himself, since He sacrificed His life on the cross so that you might have the option to be reconciled with the Father and receive the free gift of salvation and eternal life. Glory Be! And all you have to do is get positive and BELIEVE!
Now let’s look at our Bit, although I’m not sure how much time and space we have to devote to it. But here goes: ‘Ye that LOVE the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.’
Now that’s positivity in spades my brethren! One can’t be more positive than surrendering one’s life to the Lord and putting all one’s trust in Him, based on those words of immortal truth!
Yesterday we looked at some corroborating scripture for the first section; ‘Ye that LOVE the Lord, hate evil:’ Now I have one more significant scripture to add to those, this from Bruh Paul as he talks to the Romans about the service of LOVE to all. ‘Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good.’ (Rom.12:9) And that’s exactly how a true Christian ought to behave!
Hear this explanation from the scholars. ‘12:9. Without dissimulation (lit. “without hypocrisy”). The Christian’s conduct in the local church toward fellow believers is to be a volitional caring for others (making a purposeful decision to do so), LOVING faithfully in spite of the response received. The LOVE is to be genuine and unfeigned.’
Hn! I wonder how much genuine and unfeigned LOVE there is in the church today eh? Definitely not as much as there ought to be, otherwise there wouldn’t be so much disunity, resentment and bad blood amongst Christ’s supposed saints.
And this statistic is going to floor you, it certainly did when I heard Sister Joyce, (Joyce Meyer) recently declare that she looked up the number of denominations in Christianity and found some 33 thousand. Yes friends, thirty three thousand, broken down in all forms and fashions, and with various doctrines too! And then we wonder why Lucifer and his evil buddies are ruling the world.
Ah mih breddren, the long and short of the story is that until supposed believers learn to live together in harmony and unity, leaving all selfishness and ego behind, Christ’s church will not be as successful as it needs to be.
So please, let’s ponder that situation this morning nuh, and let’s all make a serious and binding decision to improve it in whatever way we can. That is, if we truly desire our children’s children to have a half decent life here on earth. Much LOVE!
…no organization can grow successfully and last for any length of time…unless there is unity and harmony amongst its members…
19 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brand new day, a living hope, abundant mercy, adventurous, be obedient to god's will, Blessed be the God and Father, blessings, Christian's destiny, comprehend God's greatness, deliverance, eternal life, faith, finite minds, focusing on the future, forgiving nature, forsaking God's goodness, gift of salvation, glory hallelujah, glory to God, God's goodness, God-given options, halfway home, hands on the plough, hath begotten us again, imperishable, incorruptible, indestructible, inheritance, interesting, invading my heart, LOVE, mercies, miserable, morally tainted, not turning back, One Year Book of Bible promises, our Lord Jesus Christ, presence of sin, redeeming, reserved inheaven, revealed in the last time, Ruth Harms Calkin, sacrificial death, salvation, shout from the hilltops, sing and dance, So Profound, thanks and praise, the breath of life, the future, the power of God, the presence of God, the ravages of time, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, this is the day the Lord has made, truth, uncertainty, undefiled, we will rejoice and be glad in it, Wednesday Wail
1 Peter 1:3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively (living) hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Welcome to Wednesday friends! It’s a brand new day with brand new mercies and blessings! Glory to God for providing us with such abundance!
In return we ought to give Him much thanks and praise, be obedient to His holy will and enjoy the day. That’s why we can all sincerely shout: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’
And if we don’t follow through with that declaration, then it’s only us losing, foolishly forsaking God’s goodness. The Lord will still be in His high heaven enjoying Himself, but we will be miserable down here on planet earth.
Consequently, I want to share a poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that’s titled ‘So Profound.’
And it says: ‘O God I want to sing and dance I want to shout it from the hilltops: There is absolutely nothing In my wretched past That can hinder You From redeeming my future Except my refusal to let You. Thank You for invading my heart With a truth so refreshing So magnificent So profound!’
Yeh mih people, we should be singing and dancing and giving praise each and every day that we’re alive, thankful for our wonderful God’s redeeming and forgiving nature!
And it’s surprising when we live a thankful and grateful life how interesting and adventurous are our days! We don’t sit around moping and groaning and complaining because things aren’t going our way.
But it’s surprising how many supposed believers unwisely live that miserable sort of life even with God’s goodness and mercy right at their fingertips.
And we should be especially thankful and grateful at this most important time of year when Jesus rose from the dead to allow us to have the free, God-given options of salvation and eternal life! Glory to God!
And the Bible Promises used for that poem are some verses from 1 Peter that we recently looked at, but are certainly worthy of sharing again, the first one being our Bit.
‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively (living) hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you. Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time’ (1 Pet.1:3-5)
Ah mih people, our God is so great that our small, finite minds can’t even truly comprehend His greatness! And don’t talk about His LOVE! Wow! That is so out of sight that it boggles our imagination!
For before we LOVED Him, He LOVED us and sent His Son to die in our place, so that our sins could be forgiven! Now if that isn’t the ultimate in LOVE, then I don’t know what is!
Now let’s look at some explanations of our verses from the scholars. ‘1:3-2:10. The Christian’s destiny: salvation. Salvation means “deliverance.” Peter’s view of salvation is ultimate salvation, that is, when the believer will be rescued from this world into the presence of God.’
‘1:3-12. The plan of salvation. Peter does not look at time from a Western perspective. The Hebrews regarded the present as so fleeting that in their language they have essentially only two tenses: past and future.’
‘1:3-5. The portrayal of salvation looks to the future. The author of salvation is portrayed as the blessed God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The work of salvation (vs. 3-5) is described as to its effect. Hath begotten us again refers to a new stage of life that begins at salvation.
This lively hope has no element of uncertainty, for it is guaranteed by Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. The believer’s inheritance is described as incorruptible (Gr. aphtharton), imperishable or indestructible, and undefiled (i.e. morally untainted).
That fadeth not away (Gr. amaranton) means it is not subject to the ravages of time. Further it is reserved (Gr. teteremenen, perfect tense), that is, it has been preserved in the past and still is in heaven.
Kept is a present passive participle – we are secure because we are continually guarded by God, who never relaxes His vigil. Salvation here refers to final salvation, that is, deliverance from the presence of sin and into the presence of God.’
Yeh friends, the explanations might take some effort to understand, but that’s how we get to know the word. And besides, the most important fact is that it’s all for our good! So please make the effort to grasp it and hang on to it. Hope you enjoyed the lesson in Greek too. (smile)
Now let’s end by sincerely declaring our Wednesday Wail. ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Now let’s truly live it my brethren! Much LOVE!
…the great gift of salvation…would not be possible without Jesus’ sacrificial death…and His awesome resurrection…
12 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: appropriate, beauty, bring an offering, challenges, common sense, dark mountains, darkness, Dear god, disobedience, financial situation, funeral, give glory unto God, glory hallelujah, God is good, God's mysterious workings, grief, halfway home, hands on the plough, hardheaded, honour, I am thanking You right now, idols, in the Lord's hands, judge the people righteously, look for light, majestic ending, majesty, not turning back, pain, praise God, quandary, receive rewards, salvation, see results, sense of purpose, strength, stubborn, sunny spring day, the ability, the breath of life, the children are asleep, the glorious future with Jesus, the good news, the heathen, the journey gets easier, the Lord is great, the Lord reigns, the opportunity to do better, the shadow of death, the Way, ticker, Top o' the morn, truth, trying times, unfortunate news, Wernesday Wail, wisdom, worship the Lord, you haven't given up on me, your feet stumble
Jeremiah 13:16. Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.
Aye friends, top o’ the morn! Now yesterday’s cloudy beginning turned into a beautiful sunny spring day, let’s hope that today’s cloudy start will also turn into a majestic ending.
But yuh know I’m beginning to dread opening my e-mail on a morning, because I’m been bombarded with too much unfortunate news.
Yesterday I opened it and heard about my friend Jackie’s death. Today I open the e-mail and find out that she’s to be buried tomorrow at 11 a.m. exactly when I have an appointment with my heart doctor. Chuh!
And this is not just an ordinary, routine appointment, but one to do some technical stuff to see if my heart has improved over the last few months. So you can imagine the quandary that I’m in; I don’t want to miss Jackie’s funeral, but I do want to know what’s happening with my ole ticker.
Anyway, I’ll just leave it all in the Lord’s hands and see how He works it out. But this morning we’re going to pray a prayer that I discovered on one of my office walls last night while looking for something else.
And I have to laugh at the Lord’s mysterious workings, because this is a prayer that I ought to see every time I enter the office and go to sit behind the desk. But I obviously don’t.
Ah Lord eh! I believe I’ve shared it with you a long time ago, but is it ever so appropriate for these trying times in which we’re currently living!
So please pray with me: ‘Dear God: I want to thank you for what you have already done. I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards; I am thanking You right now! I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better; I am thanking You right now!
I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop talking about me; I am thanking You right now! I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears; I am thanking You right now!
I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves; I am going to thank You right now! I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is quiet; I am going to thank You right now!
I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the job; I am going to thank You right now! I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life that has caused me pain or grief; I am going to thank You right now!
I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed. I am thanking You right now! I am thanking You because I have the ability and the opportunity to do more and do better. I am thanking You because Father, You haven’t given up on me! Amen!’
Yes friends, what a beautiful prayer! Our God is just so good! And the important and amazing thing is that He’s so good, ALL THE TIME! Oh Praise His Holy Name my people!
And if we’d give our wonderful God thanks and praise more often than we do, our lives would be so much better, but we’re just stubborn and hardheaded, and just seem to make our lives harder than necessary.
And I like how this prayer just fits nicely with our Bit. ‘Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.’
Now our God doesn’t want to cause darkness in our lives, but if we’re continually disobedient, we leave Him no choice. It’s just like us with our children; we don’t like to punish them, but constant disobedience does call for some harsh consequences.
Hear how the psalmist puts in Psalm 96 – A call to praise God. ‘Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; show forth his salvation (proclaim the good news of his salvation) from day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen (nations), his wonders among all the people.
For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
Give (ascribe) unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give (ascribe) unto the Lord the glory due his name: bring an offering and come into his courts.
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear (tremble) before him all the earth. Say among the heathen (nations) that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be (is firmly) established that it shall not be moved (shaken): he shall judge the people righteously.’ (Ps.96:2-10)
Yes my fellow believers, that’s the majesty and magnificence, the power and glory of our great God! Please, let’s give him the reverence and honour that are His rightful due nuh. It’s only common sense and wisdom to do so.
Now let’s go home with our hearts filled with joy and reverence, praise and thanksgiving, as we declare our Wednesday Wail in unison and a strong sense of purpose.
‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Oh friends, let’s keep looking forward to that glorious future with Jesus nuh, for He is indeed the TRUTH, the LIGHT and the WAY! Much LOVE!
…in the LIGHT of Jesus…true believers overcome darkness…
10 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adrenaline, aura of love, be not proud, catastrophe, confidence, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, faith, fellowship, friends, give ear, glory hallelujah, gospel truth, hear ye, holy spirit, Holy Week, humble yourselves, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, Judah, lies, LOVE, loving-kindness, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, our hearts are right, Palm Sunday, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, salvation, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, the flesh is weak, the Lord has spoken, trust, truth, ungodly world, wisdom
Jeremiah 13:15. Hear ye, and give ear, be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken.
Ah mih people, I do hope we had a good Palm Sunday, and did not overdo it with too much rejoicing, (smile) for today is Monday and also the beginning of Holy Week. That means we need to get up and go out strong to work as well as be ready to go prayerfully into Holy Week and all the wonderful aspects of our faith that happen at the end of it.
And the Lord knows that although our flesh is weak, our hearts are in the right place. So let’s get a move on by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn which hopefully will get our engines started and our adrenaline richly flowing.
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!’
Now that wasn’t a bad rendition at all my people, but certainly not good enough to make all heaven stand up and rejoice. So now that we have the adrenaline flowing, let’s go out into the evil world and do our ambassadorial duties much better than our singing nuh. (smile).
That brings us to our Bit. ‘Hear ye, and give ear, be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken.’ Yeh friends, it’s ever so important for us to hear and pay serious attention when the Lord speaks.
And what did He say: ‘Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.’ (Jer.13:16)
Oh my brethren, are we giving God the glory He so richly and rightfully deserves? I don’t think so nuh, because our world has become so evil and ungodly that a whole generation doesn’t even know Him. Such was the state of Judah in Jeremiah’s time. And the Lord used parable- like lessons through Jeremiah to teach them of their backsliding and the possible consequences if it continued.
Listen to what comes next: ‘But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive. Say unto the king and to the queen (mother), Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down (collapse), even the crown of your glory.’ (Jer.13:17-18)
Yes precious people, we need to step back and take a serious look at our society, what is currently happening and what can possibly happen because of our ungodliness and prideful walk.
Hear the scholars. ’13:15-17. A third illustration (parable-like lesson) concerns a weary traveller in danger of being overtaken by the falling darkness of night. Such was Judah. It must renounce all pride and give God His rightful glory before the final darkness of national catastrophe engulfs it.’
Oh friends, I couldn’t put it any better nuh. The darkness of night has overtaken our world so horribly, that darkness is all some of us know. Light, the bright burning flame of Jesus many of us have never encountered. Fortunately though, we believers, like Jeremiah, have been given the task of bringing Jesus’ light to this darkened world.
We are the ambassadors, the modern- day equivalent of the disciples that Jesus instructed: ‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
Now that is our task for today my fellow believers. So let’s get out there with diligence, hard work and excellence, perseverance and LOVING-kindness and do what we’ve been commanded to do nuh, like faithful and obedient ambassadors. Otherwise, our ungodly and wicked world is very liable to collapse around us in God’s wrath. And we wouldn’t want that now would we? Much LOVE!
…in a world full of darkness…only God’s people can bring light to it…
04 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: action, afraid, all things work together for good, beloved of God, beneficial, benefit the earth, called according to His purpose, Christian walk, confident, devour, enemies, failures, faith, fight the giants, foes, frined of jesus, frowns, god, God is my strength and power, God makes my way perfect, God-given, harmless way, hockey game, indisputable, investment of energy, lure, mercy, misery, my heart shall not fear, my salvation, natural, of the utmost importance, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., overcome the world, Philistine, priorities, psalm 27, put out power, quench, sense of purpose, share His love, sincerity, smiles, Song of Deliverance, song of thanksgiving, strength, take stock, the joy of life, the light of Israel, the Lord is my light, the most powerful Being, the winter days, then that love god, tribulation, truth, Tuesday Mantra, victories, war, wasting resources, whom shall I fear
2 Samuel 22:33. God is my strength and power; and he maketh my way perfect.
Oh friends, blame it all on the game; the lure of the good ole hockey game! (smile) I began watching it late and just had to watch the whole thing. And then my beautiful body called for some decent sleep. So I couldn’t win any which way I turned. (smile)
And it looks like this rainy Tuesday morning is going to be a smiley type of morning, but nothing’s wrong with that, for smiles are way more useful and beneficial than frowns
Anyway, today I want to share one of the many famous quotes of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841-1935), an American judge and member of the Supreme Court. This one wisely declares: ‘The joy of life is to put out one’s power in some natural and useful or harmless way. There is no other, and the real misery is not to do this.’
Oh my people, are we doing this; putting out our power in a natural and useful or harmless way? I surely do hope so, otherwise we’re just wasting the resources that God, our Creator, gave to us to benefit the earth in some form and fashion.
I know we all have problems, be they physical, emotional or financial, but it is of the utmost importance that we learn how to use our resources, our energy in the most productive ways. We absolutely need to get our priorities straight so that we can live a good life with proper investment of whatever energy we have.
Wasting our precious, God-given energy on unproductive stuff is the worst mistake we can make, especially when we are in the winter days of our lives, and energy is not as plentiful as it used to be. (smile)
So let’s take stock of our lives today nuh, and see if and where we’re wasting our valuable energy, and ask the Lord to help us improve in that area. And that’s where our Bit comes in. ‘God is my strength and power; and he maketh my way perfect.’
Indisputable, gospel truth that, my brethren! And Bruh David knew it, that’s why he based his life on the strength and power of God. And so should we too my people…if we are wise.
The words of our Bit come from Bruh David’s Song of Deliverance after a battle where he was less than his usual powerful self, unable to put away a Philistine giant, and Abishai, one of his men had to do the dirty work for him.
And the end of the verse says: ‘Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.’ (2. Sam.22:17)
Now isn’t that touching! Bruh David’s men realized that he had reached the end of his battle days and wanted no physical harm to come to their beloved king.
Oh friends, hopefully when we reach that stage of our own lives, there’ll be someone to fight the giants for us and keep us safe from harm.
Now the scholars tell us that Psalm 18 is almost identical, in fact an edited version of the psalm from which our Bit is taken. They call it ‘a royal song of thanksgiving that rehearses God’s deliverance of David from all his enemies.’
And that’s no lie, for Bruh David went through a whole lot of unfair and troubling events, and it’s only because of the Lord’s great mercy and immense strength that he made it through.
So when he declares in the opening verses of Psalm 27: ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up (devour) my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.’ (Ps.27:1-3)
Oh precious people of God, that is how we feel when we walk seriously and consistently with God! We don’t fear what man can do to us, because we know that our God is the most powerful Being in the entire universe!
But to come to that point, it is necessary for us to go through the many failures as well as victories that are a part of this life. What did Jesus say? ‘In this world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33b)
And Bruh David understood that principle; through the power and strength of God, everything would eventually be made right. As Bruh Paul told the Romans: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’ (Rom.8:28)
And that’s a pertinent verse we all know, but don’t place sufficient faith in it, and thus are not as confident as we should be in our Christian walk.
Anyway friends, as of today all that is going to change, we are going to sincerely believe and walk confidently in the Lord’s strength and power. And we will begin doing so by declaring our Tuesday Mantra with sincerity and a true sense of purpose.
All together now: ‘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 if we truly believe those words we just spoke, then let’s go out and put them into action as Jesus desires! Much LOVE!
…faith is not true faith…until it’s been put into action…
03 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a heartbeat, adversity, antidote, aura of love, battlefield, Beelzebub, believers, Boaz, choirmaster, Christ's Church, complaining, confidence, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, faithfulness, fight the good fight, friends, Gentile, glorious kingdom, hate day, holy spirit, humble servants, invincible, Israelites, Jesse, Jesus Christ, Jew, jobs, joy, licentious weekend, lies, LOVE, Moab, Monday, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Naomi, Obed, Orpah, prince of darkness, prince of peace, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, Ruth, salvation, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, trust, truth, ungodly world, union of Jew and Gentile, wisdom
Joshua 24:15(a). …choose you this day whom ye will serve…
Oh friends, it’s Monday, our favourite hate day! (smile) And we only hate it because it means we have to get up and go out and labour, after spending a soft, cushy, licentious weekend. But them’s the breaks my people. You either go and work or be homeless and starve.
And yuh better believe you’re darm lucky and blessed if you have a job, because there are millions of people out there who don’t have one and will gladly take yours in a heartbeat. So let’s start living right over the weekend nuh, so that on Monday we don’t have the set of steupsing and complaining we currently have.
In any case, let’s take the antidote for that there illness right now; the glorious singing of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. In full voice and perfect harmony, let’s belt it out: ‘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!’
Not bad friends, not bad, but not good enough to get a big rise out of our choirmaster Jesus. Anyway, with that adrenaline antidote taking effect, as it courses through our bodies, raising both our physical and spiritual capacity, let’s get a move on, for Jesus is waiting for us out on the battlefield, so we can fight the good fight with Him. Time to move out mih people!
That brings us to our Bit: ‘…choose you this day whom ye will serve…’
Yes friends, we can either serve the prince of this evil world, Beelzebub, or the Prince of Peace, of Light and Eternal Life, Jesus Christ. The decision is totally yours. But let me give you a li’l bit of wise advice. It will be better for you, if you serve Jesus Christ, for He is the mighty conqueror of hell, death and the grave, Beelzebub’s territory! That’s why Beelzebub now has no power over true believers, unless we fall for his lies and deceits.
Now we all know the numerous times the Israelites turned away from God and suffered adversity, then caught themselves, repented and were welcomed back into the fold of God. Anybody with a bit of common sense can do that, but let’s check out an individual circumstance, where the reward of a Gentile for choosing the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was immeasurable.
We’re talking about the story of Ruth, the Moabitess, who immigrated to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law Naomi from her own land of Moab, after her husband, brother and father in-law had died, leaving three widows behind. Now Naomi, having heard that the ‘Lord had visited (attended to) his people in giving them bread,’ (Ruth 1:6) she decided to return to her people in Bethlehem, where it might be possible for a Jewish widow to scrape together a half-decent living.
So she kissed and blessed her two daughters’ –in- law and told them to go back to their own people. But they wept and refused. However, eventually the one named Orpah did leave Naomi, ‘but Ruth clave (clung) unto her. (Ruth 1:7-15)
‘And Ruth said, Entreat me not (urge me not) to leave thee, or return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me.’ (Ruth 1:16-17)
And the scholars tell us thus: ‘1:16-17. Ruth’s faith and faithfulness are in evidence throughout the book, as expressed here in her commitment to Naomi’s God as her own. Ruth’s own concern for Naomi is bound by a strong oath made before the Lord Himself.’
And how did the Lord repay Ruth’s faithfulness? By causing her to marry the richest man in the city and having a baby boy whom Naomi the grandmother nursed. ‘And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.’ (Ruth 4:17)
Ah friends, you never know what our great and wonderful God will do nuh! For from that union of Jew, Boaz, and Gentile, Ruth, came Bruh David and later his descendant Jesus! So one more mysterious but wise working of our great God!
And as the scholars declare: ‘from the union of Jew and Gentile would ultimately come the Saviour of all men. (Acts 4:12). The marriage of Boaz and Ruth may thus serve as a picture of Christ and His church through whom all believers become one (Eph.2:11-22).’
No better way to end today my brethren! Much LOVE!
…as for me and mine…we WILL serve the Lord…
02 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Amorites, carnal, choose you this day, comeuppance, damnation, dear Lord, destruction, Egypt, el numero uno, end of the rainbow, eternal life, eternal separation, exalt Him in song, eye candy, falter, fear the Lord, fellowship, guide me, hitched to Jesus, I am weak, intercessor, Jesus, Jesus defeated him, Jesus' Second Coming, Just a closer walk, keep me from all wrong, King of Kings, let it be, light, Lord of Lords, LOVE, Lucifer, lustful, Mighty Counsellor, mighty god, my burden, my feeble life, my plea, none but thee, our Lord and Saviour, overthrow Jehovah, possessions, pot of gold, praise, praise his holy name, prince of darkness, prince of peace, second in command, serve him, shares, sincere feeling, sincerity, sing, snares, Sunday, the other side of the flood, thou art strong, thy kingdom shore, time, top dog, truth, walk close to thee, walking to and fro the earth, wealth, who cares, whom you will serve, wisdom, world of toil, worship
Joshua 24:15(a). …choose you this day whom ye will serve…
Awright friends, it’s that great day, Sunday, when we get together to fellowship, praise, sing, worship and hear the awesome words of our most wonderful and Mighty God! Glory to Him in the highest! Praise His Holy Name! Let the people exalt Him in song!
And that’s exactly what we’ll do now; exalt and glorify our heavenly Father by offering up sacrificial praise from our lips by singing the old, but ever so encouraging and assuring hymn, ‘Just a Closer Walk with Thee.’
So with great gusto, and sincere feeling, let’s sing: ‘I am weak, but Thou art strong; Jesus, keep me from all wrong; I’ll be satisfied as long As I walk, let me walk close to Thee. (Refrain: Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.)
Through this world of toil and snares, If I falter, Lord, who cares? Who with me my burden shares? None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee. (Refrain) When my feeble life is o’er, Time for me will be no more; Guide me gently, safely o’er To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore. (Refrain: Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.)’
Oh my fellow believers, there’s nothing greater in this world, this earthly journey, than a close walk with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counsellor, Faithful Intercessor, etc. etc.! Yes friends, there are many more authoritative names we can mention, but we’ll let those few suffice for now.
But the long and short of the story is that Christ is the most powerful Being in the universe, and as such, it only makes sense to attach our frail human cart to His powerful spiritual horse. (smile) And it’s very disappointing that so many of us are refusing to do it, because that’s a fool’s wisdom.
And we have no better example than that of Lucifer, who was like second in command, but through greed and innate stupidity was not satisfied. He wanted to be the top dog, El Numero Uno, and thus tried to overthrow the Most High God Jehovah. Obviously he was unsuccessful, for how can you defeat the Creator of the universe eh? And now he’s set to walking to and fro the earth, until the Lord’s ready to deal with him.
Technically speaking, he is the prince of darkness, trying to get God’s people to turn away from Him. But he has no real power, for Jesus has defeated him, left, right and centre! He can only operate on the strength of lies, deceit and subtle trickery. Consequently, he tries to capture us through worldly and fleshly things, what they call eye candy, things that have no lasting value, but do appeal to our lustful and carnal side.
Sadly though, a lot of us are choosing to go over to Lucifer’s side, enamoured by the promise of earth’s wealth and pretty possessions. But what’s going to happen when we give up the ghost eh? Will we be carrying any of that with us? No! Not one iota!
And if your cart isn’t hitched to Jesus’ horse, what’s going to happen to you then eh? Nothing but eternal separation from the One who died to save you, who paid your sin debt in full! Eternal darkness with Lucifer will be your comeuppance, instead of eternal life, light and LOVE with Jesus.
That’s why Joshua in his farewell address asked the Israelites our Bit: ‘…choose you this day whom ye will serve…’
After reminding them of all the wonderful things the Lord had done for them, he admonished them. ‘Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood (Euphrates river), and in Egypt; and serve the Lord.
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ (Josh.24:14-15)
Yes my brethren, it’s a decision, a conscious and serious one that all of us have to make at some time or another, and the sooner the better! Why? Because there are two important time related points that can cause eternal separation from Jesus; His Second Coming, without you accepting Him as your Lord and Saviour, and your dying without doing the same.
Now if any of those things happen without you walking sincerely with Jesus, then there are no other options, but eternal separation. And the truth of the matter is that either of those two things can happen at ANY time without ANY notice! That’s why it’s of the utmost importance that you make a decision RIGHT NOW, so that you won’t get left in the lurch when the end time comes.
Please don’t do like so many have done, put it off until it’s too late. The wisdom of God dictates that we act on the matter ASAP…and that means RIGHT NOW! Please don’t put your eternal life with Jesus in jeopardy through the lies and deceits of Lucifer, who has nothing good whatsoever to offer you, but is just looking for company in his eternal damnation and destruction. Much LOVE!
…Only in Jesus…will you find light, life, LOVE and the pot of gold…at the end of the rainbow…
27 Mar 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adrenaline, anointed, antidote, aura of love, be weary, blues, book off sick, Christians, complaints, confidence, conquerors, do god's work, doom and gloom, enthusiasm, evil, faint, followers of Jesus, friends, glorious kingdom, holy spirit, humble servants, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, lies, like eagles, LOVE, LOVE to hate, Messaih, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, peace, promises, pumped, recalcitrance, refuse to acknowledge, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renege, renewed vitality, righteousness., run, salvation, shield, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, strangling ourselves, strength, stubbornness, swagger, taunts, the bit and bridle, the lord will bless his people, the Lord will give strength, trust, truth, ungodly world, vacation, walk, wiles, wisdom, youths
Psalm 29:11. The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.
So our LOVE-to-hate friend, Monday, has rolled around again. And as we’re won’t to do every week, come this time, we’re strangling ourselves, refusing to acknowledge, not accepting the urging of the bit and bridle that wants us to get a move on, to get out into the world and do God’s work with enthusiasm and confidence.
Ah friends, our stubbornness and recalcitrance are legendary on a Monday morning, even though we know that there’s not much of a choice. You can only book off sick so often and take so much vacation. After that, you can only quit, and we all know what such a rash and ofttimes foolish move entails; no food, no roof over your head.
So why we allow these Monday blues and complaints to be such a large part of our lives, I truly don’t know. What I do know though, is that we have the sure antidote for whatever is ailing you this Monday morning: it’s called the Monday Morning Battle Hymn, and when you sing it with exuberance and sincerity it just displaces all the doom and gloom in your soul, raises your adrenaline level and has you just chomping at the bit, ever eager to get out onto the battle field beside Jesus.
So let’s sing it out loud and proud nuh, raising up a storm of praise and thanks in heaven. As one harmonic choir 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 mih people, mih people, that was most excellent! We even added a bit of a swagger to it, which lit up the eyes of our choirmaster Jesus and produced a big, encouraging smile on His handsome face! Wow! I haven’t seen Jesus so pumped in a long while! (smile)
So now, with the adrenaline just rushing through our bodies, let’s give it the big push this Monday morning nuh, and get up and get out there and let the evil world see what we Christians, we believers, we followers of Jesus are made of; that we’re the salt and the light of this earth!
Consequently, our Bit declares the everlasting truth. ‘The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.’
Ah friends, those are promises of our God which will never fail, because He is not the kind of God who reneges on His promises. Of the many thousands found in His word, not a single one has He ever reneged on, and He will never renege on ANY! That’s because His word is sure and strong!
Listen to some corroborating scriptures. From Psalm 28 – A prayer for God’s help, Bruh David proudly and confidently proclaims: ‘The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed (Messiah, commissioned one). (Ps.28:8-9)
Yeh mih breddren, the Lord God Jehovah is the strength of everyone; even down to our Messiah, Jesus Christ!
Now listen to Bruh David again, this time from Psalm 68 – God has gone before his people. ‘Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord. Selah. To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice.
Ascribe ye strength unto God: his excellency is over Israel, and his strength is in the clouds. O God, thou art terrible (awesome) out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.’ (Ps.68:32-35)
And if that still doesn’t convince you, then listen to these awesome words of Isaiah. ‘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 fall: 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)
Yes friends, that is what happens when people place their trust in the Lord God of Israel! Now the choice is yours, please choose wisely. Much LOVE!
…who else can give you strength…but your Creator…
26 Mar 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adore, assured, be glad in the Lord, blessed Trinity, cherubim, cleanse us, compassion, confess our sins, confident, darkness hide thee, deliverance, divine instruction, enthusiasm, evil world, exalt, exaltation, faithful and just, floods, forgive us our sins, forgiveness, glorify, God in three persons, Hades, heavenly Father, holy, human nature, humble ourselves, humility, iniquity, inspiring word, joy, LOVE, merciful, mighty, mind boggling option, my hiding place, perfect in power, personal witness, praise and worship, purity, reform ourselves, refreshed, rejoice, renewed, righteous, saints, Selah, seraphim, shout for joy, sincerity, sins, songs of deliverance, sorrows, Sunday, thanks, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the greatest, the Lord's sanctuary, the wicked, transgressions, truth, unconfessed sin, unrighteousness, upright in heart
1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
And then friends, it was the glorious day of praise and worship; Sunday! The day when we go into the Lord’s sanctuary and exalt and glorify Him as one body, His church, listen to His awesome and inspiring word and leave renewed and refreshed, assured and confident to face another week in this crazy and evil world.
And as always, we’ll begin with a wonderful rendition of one of our wonderful hymns, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy.’ So let’s offer up the sacrifice of our lips to our heavenly Father with enthusiasm, sincerity and truth.
‘Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee; holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty, God in three persons, blessed Trinity! Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee, casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea; cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee, who wert and art and evermore shalt be.
Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee, though the eye made blind by sin thy glory may not see, only thou art holy; there is none beside thee, perfect in power, in LOVE, and purity. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth and sky and sea; holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty, God in three persons, blessed Trinity!’
Yeh mih people, there’s no other God like ours; merciful and mighty; perfect in power and LOVE, one God in three persons, blessed Trinity! That’s why He is the GREATEST! No wonder we need to offer up our praise and worship, our thanks and exaltation, for He rightly deserves it.
We also need to humble ourselves before Him because He is holy and does not like or overlook sin.
But in His awesome grace has provided us with an option to be cleansed of the natural evil of our human nature, as our Bit so joyfully tells us. ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’
We can’t ask much more than that nuh my fellow believers. He didn’t have to do it, but in His wonderful LOVE and compassion for us, He just couldn’t let us go down to the pit of Hades without giving us a chance to reform ourselves. So here we are with this amazing choice of being able to praise and worship Him and come to Him in humility and ask for forgiveness.
Wow! No other supposed god gives their worshippers such a mind boggling option! That’s why we’re foolish if we don’t accept it and live up to it. Now hear the words of Bruh David as he talks about the blessed of forgiveness from Psalm 32.
‘Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not (does not charge his account with) iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile (deceit). When I kept silence, my bones waxed (grew) old through my roaring (groaning) all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture (my vitality) is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.
I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come unto him. Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about (surround me) with songs of deliverance. Selah.
I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must he held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about (surround him). Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.’ (Ps. 32:1-11)
Oh friends, how wonderful it is to be touched by the power of the Lord’s forgiveness! And here is what the scholars have to say about that psalm.
‘Psalm 32. The psalm describes the blessedness of forgiveness as no other does. This is the theme of especially the first five verses, which include the happiness of the forgiven man (vs.1-2); the physical and psychological effects of unconfessed sin (vs.3-4); and the simple remedy of confession to obtain God’s forgiveness (v.5). On this basis David can experience prayer (vs.6-7); divine instruction (vs.8-9); and personal witness (vs.10-11).’
Yeh friends, what a great way to end this series of messages on confession of sin and the Lord’s faithfulness to forgive and cleanse us! So please, let’s not forget the wonderful avenues that are open to us when we sincerely serve and worship the Lord God Almighty, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Let’s not be foolish and ignore all that He’s provided for us in His grace and tender mercies. Then we can rejoice and shout with joy! So let’s be wise and acknowledge Him nuh, lean on Him and make our way through Him, for that’s the wisdom of the ages! Much LOVE!
…to forgive is wonderful…but to receive forgiveness is even better…
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