18 Aug 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adrenalin, aura of love, blessed to see another day, Christ-like character, Christians, come to know Jesus, confidence, earth shattering, enthusiasm, eternal life, fellow believers, fellowship, friends, further God's glorious kingdom, further Jesus' cause, generous help, give thanks and praise, guidance, heathen, heavy load, holy spirit, honest man, humble servants, hypocrites, I am come to fulfill, I am not come to destroy, indisputable fact, infidel, invincible, Jesus Christ, Law of Moses, legalism, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, man-made laws, Monday Morniing Battle Hymn, neighbours, New Testament, Oh Lord God Almighty, Old Testament, one body in Jesus, one harmonious body, outward show, Pharisees, rejuvenation of spirit, religion, religiosity, reveille, righteous, righteousness., roof of heaven, rules and regulations, scribes, show boaters, small mercies, smile, spiritual armour, spiritual intention of the law, spiritual principles, splendiferous, steadfast faith, superficial religious behaviour, superiority of Jesus' message, the Beatitudes, the clock is ticking, the kingdom of heaven, trust, truth, ungodly world, walk obediently, wisdom
Matthew 5:20. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case (by no means) enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Arise oh Friends… arise oh Neighbours… arise oh Fellow Believers… the clock is ticking… Hear ye, hear ye, the bugler’s blowing reveille! That means it’s time to rise and greet this beautiful Monday morn! And remember, before rolling out of bed to give a li’l individual thanks and praise for being blessed to see another day, and ask for guidance to walk obediently on your way.
Now before the whining and complaining begin, (smile) let’s raise the roof of heaven with a miraculous and highly motivated rendition of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. In full voice, as one harmonious body:
‘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!’
Splendiferous my brethren! Splendiferous! That rendition was certainly earth shattering, and so powerful that it also raised heaven’s roof, like a hurricane attacking those of our earthly houses. The angels had to be quite quick too and grab it before it blew away. (smile) Yes my brethren, that’s what’s possible when believers get together and act as one true body in Jesus.
Now let’s take all that adrenalin and enthusiasm and energy and get out there and actively use it to further Jesus’ cause; His LOVE Revolution, so that the heathen, the infidel, may see and experience our Christ-like character and desire to come to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour too.
And our Bit today certainly amplifies that directive: ‘For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case (by no means) enter into the kingdom of heaven.’
And that’s an indisputable fact Friends! That’s Jesus, during His commenting on the Law of Moses, where he first explained: ‘Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.’ (Matt.5:17)
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘5:17. Having laid the foundation of the message in the summary statements of the Beatitudes, Jesus now proceeds to show the superiority of His message to that of the law of Moses. He makes it clear that He had not …come to destroy the law. That is, the New Testament gospel is not contradictory to the Old Testament Law; rather it is the ultimate fulfillment of the spiritual intention of the law.
Where the law had degenerated into legalism among the Pharisees, Jesus now takes the law beyond mere outward observance to the inner spiritual intention of God.’
Oh Friends, unfortunately the same situation still exists today. Religion has built a set of rules and regulations that’s impossible for any human being to follow to the letter. And there are way too many of us making a big outward show of our supposed religiosity, like the Pharisees of old, when inside we’re big time hypocrites.
We don’t do half of what we say or pretend to do. Our actions are based more on superficial religious behaviour than true godly spiritual principles. Too many of us Christians are religious show boaters!
Oh Friends, there’s much more to be said on this topic, but we will leave that for another day, since I don’t want to weary us with too heavy a load today. (smile) But please, in the meantime, let’s ponder all that we’ve said, and try to figure out where we’re at individually, then wisely ask the Lord for His generous help to improve, to become more Christ-like. That’s one request He will NEVER refuse! Much LOVE!
…just like an honest man doesn’t need barriers…fences and doors…to stop him from stealing…likewise, the heart of a righteous man…doesn’t need numerous man-made laws to keep him righteous…
P.S. Does it ever seem short today! (smile) I had to check it twice to see if that was really all. But that’s really all! So please be thankful for small mercies. Much LOVE!
11 Aug 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a smiley kind of day, arduous task, aura of love, blessings, Bruh Paul, bugler's call, christ jesus, common sense, Corinthians, Creator of the universe, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, faith, fellowship, forgiveness, friends, fun, get with the programme, give thanks, glorious kingdom, goodness of god, grace, heavenly hosts, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, invincible, irony, Jesus Christ, joy, justified, laughter, lord jesus christ, LOVE, military training, miserable, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Oh Lord God Almighty, peace, Philippians, pray without ceasing, rejoice, rejoice evermore, rejoice in hope, Rejoice in the Lord, Rejoice in the Lord always, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, reveille, righteousness., rise and shine, Romans, salvation, smile, sour, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, summer, the glory of God, the vine and the branches, the will of God, times of sorrow, truth, wisdom, your joy might be full
Philippians 3:1. Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. to write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous (tedious), but for you it is safe.
‘Spah na na na na na na nah!’ Hey Friends… ‘Spah na na na na na na nah!’ It’s the bugler’s call to reveille! That means it’s time for all able bodied persons to rise and shine and get with the program on this glorious Monday morning, in the final days of the wonderful summer of 2014! (smile)
Yes Friends, I believe that if we all had some military training early on in our lives, waking up on a Monday morning would not be such an arduous task. But as we said yesterday, the time and place to begin preparations for Monday is Sunday, fellowshipping with other believers. And if you don’t believe me, then just try it. I dare you. (smile)
Anyway, let’s get our usual adrenalin rush from our Monday Morning Battle Hymn; loud and clear and harmonious my people.
‘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!’
That was wonderful my brethren! So wonderful, that the heavenly hosts felt the magnetic pull of the riddim and sang along with us. Yuh see how powerful we can be when we put our minds to it! (smile)
Now let’s turn to our Bit, from Bruh Paul’s epistle to the Philippians, re continual pressing towards the mark. ‘Finally my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous (tedious), but for you it is safe.’
And I just had to chuckle as I realized the irony of the similarity of the situation; meaning that writing to you my fellow believers is not tedious for me, while it is safe and sensible for you. (smile)
And the scholars’ note on this verse is very educational. ‘3:1. Finally is a transitional word that might be rendered “as for the rest” or “in addition to.” It turns from the old subject just discussed in 2:19-30 (i.e. the coming visits of Timothy and Epaphroditus) to a new subject in 3:1-4:1 (i.e. the readers’ religious enemies).
To write the same things refers to matters that Paul touches on again and again, namely the call to rejoice found throughout the epistle, and the repeated warnings about their adversaries (1:28-30; 3:1-4:1).’
And today I just want to reiterate to us Bruh Paul’s advice re rejoicing in God. Ah mih people, that is such an important part of a believer’s life that we can never overestimate its importance. Without a sense and purpose of rejoicing in our hearts, souls, bodies and minds, we’d be like…like… I can’t even find the words to describe it.
We’d be so serious and inhibited that there’d be little or no laughter, fun or joy in our lives. And unfortunately that’s how some believers live their lives, always sour and miserable, unwisely believing that to have a pleasant and laughing personality goes against the dictates of Jesus. But that’s ever so wrong my brethren.
Remember Jesus’ words to the disciples when talking about the vine and the branches? ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.’ (John 15:11) Now you can’t be full of joy and be sour and miserable.
Now let’s look at some scriptures where Bruh Paul advises us to rejoice. And we’ll begin with the most famous one to these same Philippians. “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.’ (Phil.4:4)
Oh Friends, there are so many things in our lives to rejoice about that we should indeed be continually rejoicing in our wonderful and merciful God!
Then to the Corinthians, when summarizing his ministry, he declares: ‘As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.” (2 Cor. 6:10)
So even in his times of sorrow, he rejoiced because he knew and experienced the miraculous grace of God, which is to this day still available to all who sincerely believe.
Hear what he told the Romans: ‘Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.’ (Rom.5:1-2)
Oh my brethren, if we have faith in Jesus Christ, then peace, joy, grace and all the other goodness of God is open to us! Now if those aren’t overwhelming reasons to rejoice always, then I don’t know what is!
And we’ll end with some of Bruh Paul’s simple but mighty and memorable words to the Thessalonians: ‘Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.’ (1 Thess.5:16-18)
Oh Friends, those three simple statements cover God’s entire will for us! So let’s do them nuh. I won’t even go as far as calling it wisdom, because it’s only common sense… that is if you consider yourself a believer. Much LOVE!
…regardless of our earthly trials…when you have faith, peace, joy, LOVE, forgiveness, mercy, grace and faithful promises of salvation and eternal life from a mighty and magnanimous God…rejoicing ought not to be a problem…but should come automatically…
P.S. It’s certainly been a smiley smiley kind of day! (smile) But you can’t help but smile when you’re rejoicing! Much LOVE!
03 Aug 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a Christian's cloak, a new song, allegations, almighty god, Amen, an even place, another day, bless the Lord, browbeat, Bruh David, BruhDavid, call upon the Lord, debts, discontent, enemy, evil felons, evil tentacles, Examine me, faithful, family, family gatherings, fear, fellowship, forgiveness, fractured by work, give thanks, glorify God's holy name, go to church, grace, grievances, guilt, heaven, I shall not slip, I waited patiently for the lord, information, injustice, innocent, innocent cry, integrity, intimidated, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, Jesus is mine, judge, keeps us away from God, labour, lies, life or death, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, loving kindness, Lucifer, magnify, malice, merciful, mercy, minions, nature of the beast, one day of rest, Our Father, pit, power, praise, privileges, proud, push back, railroad, revered, sing, So let it be, special day, stand strong, stand strong and steadfast, steps, Sunday, take it to the limit, the Lord's Day, toil, true, true believers, trust, truth, unforgiving, upon a rock, vengeance, vindicate, worship
Psalm 26:12. My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the Lord.
Oh Friends, it’s Sunday – the Lord’s Day! That means it’s time for all true believers to gather in His sanctuary and fellowship; sing, praise, worship, give thanks, magnify and glorify God’s Holy Name!
And all God’s people said a loud, grateful and sincere. ‘Praise the Lord! Let His light so shine before us that we may walk worthy of Him! Amen.’
Ah mih people, Sunday used to be such a blessed day; a day for family and worship, but as in so many other areas of life, the world has stretched its evil tentacles into Sunday too. Now the family and worship have been seriously fractured by work.
So many more places of business are now open on Sundays, it makes it difficult for many of us to have time for family gatherings, or time to go to church. And the sad part is that it’s getting worse!
Sunday is no longer a revered or special day. It’s now become just another ordinary day, another day for doing business. Steups!
Ah Lord eh! My people, we have to stand strong and push back some. The Lord said there should be at least one day of rest from toil and labour every week, but if we don’t look sharp, we won’t even have the little we now have. Lucifer and his evil felons are just trying to draw us away from Jehovah God in any which way they can.
They don’t care what it is, it could be life or death, once it separates or keeps us away from God, they’re happy. We can’t allow that to happen my brethren.
So please, let’s get up and go out and worship Almighty God in droves, let’s take it to the limit, and let the evil one and his foolish minions know that we will not be intimidated, we will not be railroaded into giving up our Sunday privileges, or stop worshipping our most wonderful God on His special day!
And all the children of God gave a mighty shout of ‘Amen! So let it be!’
Oh my fellow believers, we need to call upon the Lord as Bruh David did in our Bit, when he was falsely accused. ‘But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me. My foot standeth in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the Lord.’ (Ps.26:11-12)
Yes my Friends, a Christian’s cloak is his integrity, and we ought not to fear acknowledging and publicly blessing and praising the Lord for His goodness to us. And I know these days it’s easier than ever to be wrongly accused, with the great amount of false information that’s swirling around in our information age.
And the sad part is that once the allegations are made, they stick in people’s minds, even though we may be eventually found to be innocent of them. Unfortunately, that is just the nature of the beast, of the unforgiving society in which we currently live.
But Friends, regardless of what comes against us, we always need to stand strong and steadfast with the Lord, especially when we are falsely accused. Don’t allow the enemy to browbeat us into wrongly admitting guilt.
Hear how Bruh David opens Psalm 26, from which out Bit is taken. ‘Judge (vindicate) me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide (slip).
Examine me, O Lord, and prove (try) me; try my reins (test my mind) and my heart. For thy LOVING-kindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.’ (Ps.26:1-3)
Oh my people, if we can truthfully say those words, then there’s no need to worry. Our gracious God will certainly hear our innocent cry and justify us before men.
Listen again to Bruh David as he offers praise for answered prayer in Psalm 40. ‘I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings (steps).
And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.’ (Ps.40:1-4)
Oh my fellow believers, truer words were never spoken! If we make the Lord our faithful strong tower, and walk in integrity according to His dictates, we have nothing to fear. The Lord will address our needs and our grievances in His own time; we just need to wait patiently on Him.
Now that’s not always such an easy thing to do, especially when the waters of discontent, injustice and/or malice are swirling madly around us. But it’s what we need to do as true believers, for remember that the Lord has designated vengeance and justice as His domain. Ours is not to reason why, just to trust in Him; His tender mercy, grace and forgiveness, that He administers with unconditional LOVE.
Oh Friends, our heavenly Father is the most powerful force in the universe! No other being can thwart His pronouncements unless He allows it. So please let us stand strong, faithful and true in our belief in Him.
And this Sunday morning, I believe it’s ever so appropriate that we end with the memorable words that our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ taught us.
Please pray with me: ‘Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.’ (Matt.6:9-13)
That says it all my brethren! Please have a blessed day as you walk sincerely with our Father in heaven. Much LOVE!
…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…for ALL the time…Jesus is mine…
28 Jul 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a call to praise, Abraham Isacc and Jacob, adoration, almighty god, Amen, aura of love, blessings, bow in praise, brothers and sisters in christ, christ jesus, complaining, cymbals, dance, doxology, enthusiasm, everything that breathes praise the Lord, evil, exaltation, excitement for Jesus, expressions of praise, faith, fellow believers, fellowship, glorifying God, Glory Halleujah, have a blessed day, hemming and hawing, holy spirit, human soul, humble servants, inferno, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, keeping lives and families together, light a fire, LOVE, loving kindness, maturing in our faith walk, merciful and blessed Creator, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Oh Lord God Almighty, one true God, organs, passion, passionate manner, praise, Praise the Lord, prophetic, renewed vitality, salvation, sanctuary, serve a useful purpose, sing Hallelujah, So let it be, song of praise, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, stinged instruments, thanks and praise, timbrel, trust, truth, understanding, ungodly world, walking in faith, weary souls, wisdom, wisdom of heaven, works miracles
Psalm 150:6. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye (sing Hallelijah to) the Lord.
Oh my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, it’s another beautiful Monday morning on God’s wonderful planet earth! And would you believe there was no hemming and hawing, complaining, ‘steupsing’ or ‘chuhing’ from the penny section. (smile) Glory Hallelujah Friends, like we’re finally maturing in our walk of faith. And it’s high time too.
So please give our great God much thanks and praise for bringing us through the long and lonely, dark and dreary night, into the bright, scintillating, friendly, uplifting and LOVING light of His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
And all God’s children joyfully shouted: ‘Praise the Lord! Bless His holy name! Hallelujah! Amen… So let it be!’
Yes my fellow believers, that’s the kind of praise and adoration we ought to bring to our merciful and blessed Creator each and every day, because it just fills His heart with joy, knowing that His most precious creation adores and gratefully acknowledges His LOVING-kindness!
As we said yesterday, it’s passion my brethren… passion for the ONE TRUE God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! Now let’s continue showing that passion, that verve and fervour, enthusiasm and excitement for Jesus, as we boldly and loudly sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn! Let’s light a fire, an inferno, on earth as well as in heaven with our exaltation! (smile)
On the count of three…one, two, three: ‘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!’
Most excellent my people, most excellent! Both heaven and earth were moved!
Now let’s turn to our Bit that exhorts us to praise our heavenly Father: ‘Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye (sing Hallelujah to) the Lord.’
Oh my people, that is such an awesome truth because our God is so wonderful to His creation that He deserves unlimited praise!
Now hear how the psalmist writes it- and as pieces of music have written at the top to designate speed and mood, like allegro, fandango, andante etc. this psalm has written at the top – with much passion.
So let’s do it like ordained. ‘Praise ye, (sing Hallelujah to) the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power (his mighty firmament). Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet (cornet): praise him with the psaltery (lute or lyre) and harp.
Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high-sounding cymbals. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye (sing Hallelujah to) the Lord.’ (Ps. 150:1-6)
Ah Friends, what beautiful and passionate expressions of praise!
And we’ll end with a most fitting acknowledgment from the scholars. ‘Psalm 150. The first psalm contains only six verses and speaks of the man who is blessed. The last psalm (150) also contains six verses but speaks of the God who is praised. No more fitting conclusion to the book could have been written.
While the other four books of the Psalms end with a brief verse or two of doxology, ‘a short expression of praise sung during Christian worship) Psalm 150 in its entirety forms the doxology to consummate the fifth book. As the final song of praise, it appropriately answers four key questions about praise.
(1) Where should God be praised? Everywhere, from His sanctuary on earth to His heavenly creation (v.1). (2) Why should God be praised? For His powerful deeds on behalf of men and for His inherent greatness (v.2). (3) How should God be praised? With every suitable instrument man can offer with his God-given creativity and artistry (vv.3-5). (4) Who should praise God? Everything that breathes. (v.6).
Though every verse of the psalm is cast in the form of a call to praise, the hymn is certainly prophetic of a day when every creature will in fact bow in praise to the Almighty God (Phil.2:11; Rev.5:8-14).’
Oh Friends, as the scholars say, the perfect way to end the Psalms! Please read those reference verses my brethren, for they are very interesting and important to our understanding of what the scholars have written above, and also to our understanding of scripture in general.
Now let’s go out and have a blessed day, walking in faith, LOVE and truth with Christ, in a most passionate manner, for that’s the wisdom of heaven! Much LOVE!
…there’s nothing that works miracles in a human soul… like praising and glorifying God…
27 Jul 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a song of praise, abundance, acceptance, adore, all knees will bow, all tongues confess, apologetic, Ark of the Covenant, ashamed of Jesus, Author and Finisher, be glad and rejoice, Bruh David, christ jesus, Christ's blood, convincing, Creator, embarassed, enjoyment, exalt, exalting Jesus, extol, exuberance, faith, faithful, fellowship, good news of Christ, grateful fellowship, honour and glorify God's name, ice-cold, Jesus Christ, joy, joyful worship, just what the doctor ordered, King of Kings, life, Lord and Saviour, Lord of Lords, loving, lukewarm, manifestation of joy, marvelous works, partaking of the cup, passion, passionate, praise and thanks, red hot, rejoice, rejoice always, sacrifical flesh of christ's body, sacrifice of Jesus, sharing, sing and dance, singing praises to God, sins, so-so, spit, step up to the plate, stodgy, Sunday, thanks always on our lips, time to worship, truth, venerate, vomit, walk of faith, with my whole heart, witness, wonderful feeling in our souls, worship Almighty God
Psalm 9:1. I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth (tell of) all thy marvelous works.
And then it was Sunday… And all the people joyfully sang: ‘Sunday, oh Sunday; time to go to the sanctuary; time to give praise and thanks; time to let the Lord know how much we LOVE Him; time to worship in true and grateful fellowship with my brethren, partaking of the cup of Christ’s blood, and the sacrificial flesh of His body, to let Him know that we remember Him in faith and truth, and also honour and glorify His holy name, for ever and ever. Amen!’
Oh Friends, at the rate we’re going, we’ll soon have a song of praise for every day! (smile) And that’s definitely not a bad thing, but rather it’s wonderful! For waking up each and every day and singing praises to our awesome God is just what the doctor, and God Himself have ordered.
And believe you me, we can never praise and glorify our omnipotent Creator too much. So let’s get ready to go to His house and worship Him this Sunday morning nuh, with plenty passion and truth.
However Friends, one of the unfortunate things I’ve discovered about us Christians; is that we’re not as passionate and convincing about Jesus as we should be. Most other faiths seem to continually extol, exalt and adore the object of their veneration, but we seem to be merely lukewarm about our Lord and Saviour, who has done so much for us.
Oftimes we seem even ashamed to call His name in public, or let others know that we believe in the Mighty King and Warrior known as Jesus Christ; King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, to whom all knees will eventually bow, and all tongues confess and acknowledge Him as Lord.
Yes, in the church buildings we sing and dance and praise His holy name, but once we’re out of the buildings we seem to adopt a stodgy, embarrassed and even apologetic attitude.
Oh my people, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about or to apologize for in exalting Jesus! For He is indeed the author and finisher of our faith! The one who selflessly and willingly gave up His ease and comfort in heaven to come to this mish-mash earth and die for our abominable sins, so that we could be granted salvation and eternal life.
Now isn’t that something to jump for joy about, and shout from the rooftops and mountains to all the world? It certainly is my brethren! For what other supposed deity has done anything even closely resembling Jesus’ sacrifice for his followers eh? NONE WHATSOEVER!
Oh Friends, please remember what Jesus said to the church at Laodicea: ‘I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would (wish) thou wert (were) cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew (spit or vomit) thee out of my mouth.’ (Rev.3:15-16)
Yes my people, we either have to be red hot, meaning passionate, or ice-cold, not merely so-so in our acceptance and following of the greatest teacher who ever lived, Christ Jesus!
Oh my fellow believers, it’s time we all rose up and passionately do like Bruh David says in our Bit and the verse following: ‘I will praise thee, O Lord with my whole heart; I will show forth (tell of) all thy marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou Most High.’ (Ps.9:1-2)
And my people, we ought to do that not only in the churches or wherever we officially worship Almighty God, but in all our doings, wherever we go; at home, at school, at work, at play, the thanks and praise to our wonderful Creator ought always to be on our lips.
How did Bruh Paul put it? ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.’ (Phil.4:4)
And remember too how Bruh David danced before the Lord when the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem. (2 Sam.6:14) He wasn’t ashamed to exalt and extol His ever-faithful and ever-LOVING God in public, like so many of us sadly are.
But we shouldn’t be ashamed of our Saviour, my brethren. Jesus said that He came to earth to give us life and joy, and give them in great abundance. (John 10:10) And joy is such a wonderful feeling in our souls that it usually just comes pouring out of us and we are glad to share it.
Therefore Friends, if we have joy in Jesus, then why aren’t we sharing it passionately with all and sundry eh, instead of foolishly and selfishly keeping it locked up inside of us? We should be exceedingly glad to share it with everybody, to noise it all over the world!
So today my people, when we’re finished joyfully worshipping in church, let’s come outside and continue that joyful worship nuh. Joyful worship does nothing for the inanimate buildings; it’s meant to be partaken of, to be spread amongst people. And how can we expect believers to come to Jesus through our witness, when we are only lukewarm in our walk of faith, in our exuberance, our manifestation of joy eh? That won’t ever happen!
It’s time we step boldly up to the plate and witness with true joy, so that others may belief. It’s what we’ve been placed here to do, therefore let’s do our duty with relish and verve and fervour nuh! It’s the ONLY way to go! Much LOVE!
…merely talking in hushed tones about the good news and deeds of Christ…and not showing real enjoyment in, and passion for them…will never endear Him to others…
26 Jul 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a witness against you, abound with blessings, anointed, beat us down, beating the odds, blessings, condemned, courageous, Cousin Sol, day of slaughter, do it afraid, don't hurry to be rich, eat your flesh like fire, faith conquers fear, faithful man, false evidence that appears to be real, fear, fears, fraud, garments, giving thanks to god, god -endowed wisdom, God's punishment, heavenly kind of riches, human trait, indulgent, innate human frailities, Jesus Christ, Joyce Meyer, keep your fears to yourself, Kidnapped, killed the just, lay not up earthly riches, long and short of the story, Lord and Saviour, mercy, moth and rust destroy, mothballs, physical realm, promise, riches rotted, Robert Louis Stevenson, sense of expectancy, share your courage with others, Sister Joyce, Son Jesus, spiritual side, the Lord of the Sabaoth, thieves break in, Treasure Island, truth, walk in faith, wanton
Matthew 6:19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin, destroy), and where thieves break through and steal.
Aloha Friends and neighbours! Let’s greet this new day with a sense of expectancy and promise by giving thanks to our heavenly Father, who has so graciously anointed us to see it.
‘Dear Father in heaven, we praise your holy name and thank you for your mercy and blessings that have allowed us to rise and greet another day. We also thank you for your wonderful Son Jesus, who sacrificed His holy life so that we could be reconciled to you, and be once more called your children. Please help us to walk today in your will and the plan you have for our lives. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.’
And today we have a quote attributed to the famous Scottish novelist, poet and essayist, author of such treasured literature as ‘Treasure Island and Kidnapped’ amongst others, the one and only Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) Robert is supposed to have said to ‘Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others.’
And I must admit that there is a lot of truth to that statement, but we need to put fears into their proper perspective. And sometimes though it is healthy and healing to show them, because it gives others a chance to help us with them, and also show that we’re not the super people we try or pretend to be.
Now it’s okay to fear, for fear is a natural human trait, but we must not allow fear to beat us down. As I heard Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) say recently, ‘Fear is the false evidence that appears to be real.’ And that’s often the fact. We fear stuff and in the long run those fears never come to pass, or they are not as bad as we thought.
Sometimes too we have to be aware of seeming too courageous, since it can cause others to look at us with jealousy and /or resentment. You know the type that’s always beating the odds, who never lose a battle. We must at times appear to be human with all the innate frailties.
The long and short of the story though Friends, is that it’s okay to fear, to even show fear, but more often than not we should show courage, and even if we are afraid, as Sister Joyce is won’t to say, we must do it afraid. Remember that only Faith conquers fear, that’s why we ought always to try and walk in faith.
And having said all of that, which I hope makes sense, (smile) let’s turn to our Bit, those wise and wonderful words from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ regarding material wealth. ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin, destroy), and where thieves break through and steal.’
And we don’t even have to consider the spiritual side of that statement to know that it’s true in the physical realm, for all of us have valuable stuff that are ruined by rust, like cars and other metallic things, and moths do eat our best clothes if we leave them hanging up in our closets or lying in our drawers too long. Remember the days of mothballs in every draw? Hn! The young people won’t have any idea of what mothballs are.
Anyway, let’s get to some scripture on the subject. And Cousin Sol, in his great, God-endowed wisdom, tells us thus: ‘A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent (go unpunished).’ (Prov.28:20)
And we all know people like that, people whose only goal is to get materially rich as soon as possible. Some of us might have even fallen into that category at one time or another, but hopefully we’ve been cured of that disease, either through the awesome power of Jesus, or the punishment we received for being too hasty to get rich. (smile)
But in any case we now realize the right kind of riches to make our priority; the heavenly kind; ‘where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt (ruin, destroy), and where thieves do not break through.’ (Matt.6:20)
Now hear James’ warning to the rich. ‘Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted (have rotted), and your garments are moth eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered (corroded); and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire.
Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold the hire (wages) of the labourers who have reaped down (mowed) your fields, which is of you (you have) kept back by fraud, crieth (cry out): and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton (indulgent); ye have nourished (fattened) your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.’ (James 5:1-6)
Oh Friends, unfortunately the same stuff is happening today, possibly on a much wider scale than in James’ day, but rest assured the results will be the same; God’s punishment for the rich and advantageous, and His justice and mercy for the disadvantaged.
Now hear some explanations from the scholars. ‘5:1-6. Ye rich men: James’ common address “brethren” is not found once in this section. By contrast, it occurs four times in verses 7-12. James is now addressing wealthy, unsaved Jews who have poor Jews working for them. They have mistreated the poor, so God’s judgement will fall on them.
5:3. Ironically, they have stored up treasure for their last days (retirement), which God will use against them in the last days.
5:4. The Lord of the Sabaoth, meaning the Lord of Hosts (i.e. of Armies), describes the omnipotent, avenging character of the God who sees and hears this injustice.’
Ah my people, all I can say is let us try not to be numbered amongst that group of people nuh. Even if we do become wealthy, let us remember that the wealth is not really ours, but we are just stewards of the Lord’s property, and it behooves us to use it wisely in helping those in need, and not taking advantage of the poor and downtrodden.
That will then cause us to reap heavenly rewards, and there is nothing better than that. So please let heavenly wisdom prevail. Much LOVE!
…if you can’t take earthly wealth with you…why kill yourself trying to amass it…
22 Jul 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abraham Isaac and Jacob, all things are possible with Jesus, be not afraid, be wise, belief, belief can move mountains, believe, believing, blessed, buried in our souls, comfort, compassion, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, earthly pilgrimage, encourage others to believe, eternal separation from God, faith, faithfulness, faithless, forgiveness, friends, glory hallelujah, God created man in his own image, God's bountiful earth, God's omnipotence, God's purposes, God's word is truth, great to be alive, hardest of hearts, holy spirit, Holy Trinity, into the world, Jesus Christ, Jesus prayed for us, joyful shout, kindness, long and short of the story, LOVE, Lucifer, may be as one, mercy, moment of truth, Most High God, My Lord and my God, omni-presence, omniscience, on the cross, one and only true God, only believe, our bounden duty, pay our sin debt, penny section, power of belief, refused to believe, sacrifice, sanctify, saved, serious trouble, sinless life, spiritual unity, the print of the nails, Thomas' unbelief, truth, understanding, wisdom, wonderful journey with Jesus, words of the apostles
Mark 5:36b. Be not afraid, only believe.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, isn’t it great to be alive, to see another beautiful day on God’s bountiful earth? It certainly is, regardless of all our troubles!
And all God’s people raised a joyful shout of ‘Glory Hallelujah! Sing praises to the Most High God, for He is indeed worthy of praise, being such an awesome and magnanimous God!’
And that He most definitely is my brethren. He is just the ‘MOSTEST!’ (smile) The ‘Mostest’ in everything; LOVE, mercy, kindness, forgiveness, wisdom, faithfulness, understanding, compassion, comfort, etc. etc. etc. And we can go on listing the etcs’ forever. Wow!
Oh my people, it never fails to amaze me when I consider the mighty God we serve and worship, for there is none other like Him to be found anywhere in the entire universe!
And that’s why it is so important that ALL His creation believe in Him who created us in His own image; in His Son Jesus Christ who sacrificed His holy and sinless life on the cross to pay our sin debt in full and reconcile us to the Father; and in the Holy Spirit who lives and dwells in us, those who BELIEVE, to guide and comfort us along the oftimes rough and rugged pathway of our earthly pilgrimage.
And consequently, it’s imperative that we do as Jesus so wisely tells us in our Bit: ‘Be not afraid, only BELIEVE!’
And when we do that simple act my brethren, what an awesome change it brings to our lives; peace and mercy, LOVE and compassion, wisdom and understanding, faithfulness and righteousness… if fact all the wonderful attributes of our omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present Deity are transferred into our souls, thus bringing us into right thinking and living with our Creator, which is basically all He asks of us.
But Friends, the first step of the wonderful journey is always BELIEF; sincere Belief!
Yes, believe that the Holy Trinity is who and what they say they are. For without that strong belief, that strong faith buried in our souls that wonderful journey with Jesus is impossible.
Enough of me though trying to convince you, let’s hear it from Jesus Himself. And the first instance is when Jesus prays for His own. ‘Sanctify them (set them apart) through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they may also be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.’ (John 17:17-21)
Yes Friends, Jesus is praying there for all like you and I, who believe on the words of the apostles and those who come after them. Imagine that nuh, Jesus prayed for us some two thousand years ago!
And the scholars offer these explanations: ’17:17. Sanctify means to “set apart” or “separate for God’s purposes.”
17:18. Sent me…sent them means the mission of the church, corresponding to that of Christ. Their tasks are alike – in fact, in purpose, and in results, as this prayer shows.
17:21. They…may be one conveys spiritual unity, not organizational unity (cf. 1 Cor.12:13; 2 Cor.1:11; Eph.2:19; 4:3-16; Heb.10:25).’
Please take the time to read those scriptures Friends, I did, and they are all interesting, helpful passages.
Ah mih people, the power of belief, especially belief in Jesus, it is so strong that it can move mountains, and even the hardest of hearts! (smile)
Then we come to that seminal moment of truth, re Thomas’ unbelief. When Jesus rose from the dead and visited His disciples, on the first occasion Thomas was absent. However, when the others told him later on that they had seen the Saviour, he outright refused to believe, saying: ‘Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.’ (John 20:25)
How foolish Friends! But eight days later, Jesus again appeared to the disciples, and this time Thomas was there. And it’s certainly revealing and important how He picked out Thomas and said to him: ‘Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless (unbelieving), but believing.
And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.’ (John 20:27-29)
Yes Friends, those who haven’t seen and yet have believed, like us, are truly blessed! Such is the power of BELIEF!
And the scholars have an interesting note here: ’20:28. Lord…God: These words from Thomas form the climax of John’s gospel and summarize its theme.’
Oh my people, it’s all about BELIEF; belief in the ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Now the long and short of the story is, if you believe, you’re blessed and saved; but if you don’t believe, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, you’re in serious trouble, facing eternal separation from Almighty God, the worst thing that can happen to a living soul.
So let’s be wise and believe nuh, it’s as simple as that. And furthermore, after we believe, let’s live a believing life and encourage others to believe, for remember the Father doesn’t want to lose even one single soul to that ole crook Lucifer.
And that’s the final message on belief from Jesus… And I hear the sighs of relief and the clapping of hands from the penny section. (smile)
And now may the Lord bless and keep us, those who believe, and also enable us to go out and help others to believe, for that is our bounden duty. Much LOVE!
…only believe…all things are possible with Jesus…only believe…
18 Jul 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: appreciate each day, be not afraid, belief, blasphemy, bread, bread of life, disciples, do his bidding, doubters, earthly sojourn, eternal life, faith, feast of the tabernacles, fellowship, Friday chant, furthering God's glorious kingdom, Galilee, generous help, give of our best everyday, god the father, going through the motions, good examples, gospel truth, heavenly wisdom, hunger, in Jesus' name, in the limelight, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, Jesus' help, Jews, Judea, LOVE, miraculous works, no prophet is accepted in his own country, only believe, physical hunger, promise, ramp up our belief in Jesus, salvation, scoffers, show thyself to the world, son of god, souls, spiritual beings, spiritual bread of life, spiritual life, spirituality, testify for Jesus, Thank God is Friday, the Father is in me, the Father's bidding, the weekend, thirst, truth, wisdom, witness for Jesus, works
Mark 5:36b. Be not afraid, only believe.
‘Friday, oh Friday, how I LOVE you Friday! Friday, oh Friday, doh care what nobody says, I will always LOVE you, because you bring the weekend near. That’s why I sing; Friday, oh Friday! Thank God it’s Friday!’
Yes my brethren, it’s that day we all wait and long so badly for, because it signals the end of the workweek. Now there’s nothing wrong with looking forward to the weekend, but technically speaking, we shouldn’t be doing as so many of us are; just going through the motions at work waiting for Friday to come so that we can go home and party the weekend away.
That attitude most certainly detracts from our witness for Jesus, and anything that does that is wrong! We must learn to appreciate each and everyday, and also give of our best each and everyday, for people are watching us; the way we work, the way we behave, and we therefore need to set good examples, if we want to be able to testify for Jesus.
Anyway, let’s chant our Friday Chant, which gives us a little better insight into how we should spend our weekends. As one now; let’s chant! ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
And Friends, if we’ll take that to heart and follow it, we’ll be much better off when Monday and the new workweek arrives. But as Jesus says in our Bit: ‘Be not afraid, only believe.’
And that’s gospel, my people! For we’re not very good at anything unless we believe in what we’re doing, and also believe that we can do it, with Jesus’ help of course.
Now today we’ll continue looking at scripture passages that call for that act of BELIEF! And we’ll begin with one of the most provocative but important statements Jesus made in His earthly sojourn.
When the people were clamouring for bread to fulfill their physical hunger: ‘Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life, he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.’ (John 6:35)
And the scholars explain that verse this way: ‘6:35. I am the bread of life means the bread that gives life. The life of which He speaks is spiritual and eternal.’
Oh my brethren, it is necessary to have physical bread to quench our physical hunger pangs, but it’s even more important, a vital necessity, to have the spiritual bread of life which only Jesus can give, so that we can attain salvation and eternal life!
We’ll always need worldly bread to quiet our complaining stomachs, but once we have the bread of life that Jesus gives, our souls, our spiritual beings, will never hunger or thirst again!
Now isn’t that a wonderful promise, one that we should all hasten to accept? Indeed it is! So let’s all concentrate on acquiring it today nuh, for it’s certainly heavenly wisdom.
Then Friends, we come to a little noticed passage of scripture, but which I believe hurt Jesus immensely. Now just before the feast of the tabernacles, Jesus’ family urged Him to go up to Jerusalem to celebrate it, but he declined, preferring to stay in Galilee, as the Jews in Judea were out to kill him.
‘His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and (while) he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, show thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him.’ (John 7:3-5)
Imagine that nuh people, Jesus’ own family didn’t believe in Him! That had to hurt and disappoint Him. This led Him to later say: ‘Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.’ (Luke 4:24) And that’s no lie, for the doubters and scoffers are usually the ones closest to the person in the limelight.
And we’ll close with another interesting episode from Jesus. This time the Jews were wanting to stone Him because they considered His claim to be the Son of God total blasphemy.
But Jesus simply reasoned to them: ‘If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.’ (John 10:37-38)
And the same thing applies to us today Friends. If we believe that Jesus did the miraculous works the Good Book claims He did, then we also have to acknowledge that He could only have done them by working in conjunction with God the Father. For no one could do those kinds of things on or in their own strength.
It therefore behooves us to believe that ALL He said was true; not to doubt, but to BELIEVE!
So this fateful Friday morning my brethren, let’s ramp up our belief in Jesus, and go out and do His bidding, just like He went out and did the Father’s bidding. That’s the best way to show our faith, our true and strong belief in Him. Much LOVE!
…you can’t put forth your best effort…unless your heart believes in what you’re doing…
15 Jul 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: admit our wrongs, all things are possible, be not afraid only believe, be right with Jesus, belief in Jesus, believe, believe and you're halfway there, bounden duty, Chinese Proverb, early to bed early to rise, exhibiting belief and faith, expectant faith, faith, fall on our knees, fearful, glorifying Jesus, go in peace, hungry hope, issue of blood, Jairus, Jesus Christ, Jewish law, late to bed late to rise, LOVE, rebuke, Red Letter Day, riddim of the falling rain, strong belief, the longest journey begins with the first step, Theodore Roosevelt, thy faith hath made thee whole, tools in man's arsenal, truth
Mark 5:36b. Be not afraid, only believe.
Oh Friends, it was one of those nights when the early to bed, early to rise situation was replaced by the late to bed, therefore late to rise tactic. And believe me, the rising wasn’t made any easier by the gentle riddim of the falling rain. (smile) But we all know that once there’s hungry hope and expectant faith, all things are possible.
And that’s worthily enhanced by our word from my almanac for today: ‘BELIEVE!’
Now that’s one of the strongest tools in man’s arsenal, my people! So much so that Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), the 26th U.S. President, is reputed to have declared: ‘Believe and you’re halfway there.’
And there’s certainly a lot of truth in that statement, my brethren. The first action in any thing is usually one of belief; believing you can do it, or that the action is possible. As the Chinese Proverb also declares: ‘The longest journey begins with the first step.’
But Friends, we cannot take that first step until we believe that the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is worth journeying for, is worth sacrificing whatever is necessary to achieve it. And believe me Friends – yes it’s a day of belief – anything that’s worthwhile striving for, will include a fair amount of sacrifice.
But the elementary position in it all must first be belief. As we said earlier, belief that the thing is possible, and also belief that you can carry it out to a successful ending. That’s why our wonderful Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ placed so much emphasis in His teaching on belief.
Our Bit says it quite clearly: ‘Be not afraid, only believe.’
And a very important aspect of any situation is that once we believe, we need to keep on believing, for belief is not a one time, one and done thing, but a continuous process, especially where Jesus Christ is concerned!
Now let’s look at the situation under which Jesus spoke the words of our Bit. And it was indeed a red-letter day, one of the many in Jesus’ earthly sojourn. For on that day, as He was on His way to heal a ruler of the synagogue’s (Jairus) daughter, a woman in the huge crowd who had suffered from an unusual blood flow for 12 years, BELIEVED!
She had spent all her money on medical treatment, but instead of getting better, she just got worse. But that day, when she heard that Jesus was in town, she hurried down to see him. ‘For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.’ (Mark 5:28)
What belief, what faith my people! So she surged through the crowd and touched His clothing. ‘And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague (affliction).’ (Mark 5:29)
Yes Friends, the power of belief is a helluva thing, especially if that belief is in Jesus Christ!
And the scholars explain the woman’s possible reasoning. ‘5:28. Popular belief had it that a person’s dignity and power extend to what he wears.’
And in that light, her actions make complete sense. But what’s also interesting is that with all the crowd milling around Him, and everybody pushing and shoving to get a better position, Jesus knew immediately that something was amiss; ‘knowing in himself that virtue (power) had gone out of him, turned him about in the press (crowd), and said, Who touched my clothes?’ (Mark 5:30)
The disciples were obviously astounded by His question, as there were so many people around Him. ‘And he (Jesus) looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague (affliction).’ (Mark 5:32-34).
Yes my people, faith can only come from belief! In fact, simply put, faith is strong belief!
And the scholars give us this interesting explanation of the woman’s behaviour. ‘5:33. The woman would be fearful of a rebuke, since her bleeding rendered her “unclean” according to Jewish law. She ought not to have been mixing in the crowd, nor reaching out purposely to touch a man. That she owned up indicates that her interest lay not only in physical health: she wanted to be right with Jesus Himself. Her faith, not the grasp of her hand, brought restoration to her.’
That brings up an interesting and oh so important question my brethren; how many of us sincerely want to be right with Jesus eh? So right that we fall on our knees and admit our wrongs?
Hopefully all believers, since it’s a rite of our faith, of our belief in Jesus! For now though, we’ll just leave that question and its answer to circulate in our souls, (smile) and continue with the story of that red-letter day.
The Good Book describes it thus: ‘While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master (Teacher) any further?’ (Mark 5:35)
And to that statement, the scholars declare: ‘5:35. Obviously, Jesus has intentionally let the time pass in which He might have preserved the girl’s life.’
And the Good Book continues: ‘As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.’ (Mark 5:36)
Yes Friends, all we have to do is BELIEVE!
So today, let’s get the ball rolling on belief nuh; particularly in strong belief in Jesus! And for those of us who already have that strong belief in Him, let’s go out and teach and show others by our words and actions how that belief plays such a great and wonderful part in our lives. For that’s what Jesus expects of His followers, of His true believers. In fact it’s our bounden duty as a true believer!
So let’s go out and do our duty, make Jesus proud of us by exhibiting belief and faith as strong as, if not stronger than the woman in the story with the issue of blood, thereby glorifying Him to all with whom we come into contact. Much LOVE!
…one can’t truly believe in Jesus…without it being showed in one’s actions and words…
P.S. Oh my people, the lateness of the Bit was even further aggravated by my security company wanting to do an important update in the middle of my writing, then needing me to shut down the computer so that the update could take effect. It certainly was aggravating. But I guess that’s a part of the whole computer scene, and we just have to grin and bear it. Again, my humblest apologies. (smile) Much LOVE!
14 Jul 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool despises instruction, a relationship with God, almighty god, aura of love, bashing, chains, considerate, criticism, differences of opinions, enthusiasm, fear, fear of the Lord, folly, glorious kingdom, gospel truth, grace, harlots, hating, he that accepts reproof is sensible, holy spirit, honour, humble servants, humility, instruction, Jesus Christ, judgemental society, living abd working for Jesus, LOVE, Monday Morniing Battle Hymn, positive attitude, Praise the Lord, prodigal son, Proverbs, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, reproof, rest, reverence, righteousness., sensitive, serve a useful purpose, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, TGIM, Thank God it's Monday, thumbs up, trust, truth, understanding, ungodly world, wealth, wisdom
Proverbs 15:5. A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth (keeps, accepts) reproof is prudent (sensible).
Well, well, well! If it isn’t Monday, the day the workers like to hate! (smile) But Friends, we shouldn’t hate Mondays nuh, because it’s the opening of a new work week, which also means that there can be improvement opportunities galore for many of us.
We should be treating Mondays like we do Fridays – celebrating it with a ‘TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday! The new work week is here, and I’m going to go out and take advantage of it, just living and working for Jesus!’
Don’t laugh mih brethren, it is possible to build such a relationship with Mondays, but it’s just going to take time, possibly a long while to build that positive attitude, especially since we’re already mired in the negative Monday hating and bashing.
But until we do get our act together in that respect, we’ll stick with our tried and true Monday Morning Battle Hymn. Now let’s sing it like we really mean it; in loud voice and perfect harmony.
‘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!’
Mama Mia! That certainly was a boisterous and harmonious rendition my people! Jesus even gave us a thumbs up sign! I guess we’re more prepared than we realized, to go out and do battle with the enemy in Jesus’ name.
And today we’ll wrap up this series of messages on this Bit. ‘A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth (keeps, accepts) reproof is prudent (sensible).’ And we’ll all agree that that’s a rather truthful statement.
So what other Proverbs can we find to corroborate it eh? Try these: ‘The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise. He that refuseth (disdains or ignores) instruction despieth his own soul: but he that heareth (heeds, accepts) reproof getteth understanding. The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.’ (Prov.15:31-33)
Yes my people, the ability to both give and receive constructive criticism is a rather important aspect of our daily lives. And it all begins with the reverence of Almighty God, from whom the much desired attribute of wisdom flows. Unfortunately though, only a small portion of our society can handle constructive criticism.
And in this rather judgemental society of ours, we’re all quick to criticize, but then we rise up in supposedly godly anger, when we are criticized. As the old people would say: ‘do so, ent like so.’ (smile) And that’s gospel truth Friends, for we don’t like done to us, what we gladly do to others.
Anyway my fellow believers, none of us is perfect – that appellation can only be applied to Jesus – neither do we all think alike, so there will inevitably be differences of opinions, but we have to be very careful, sensitive and considerate in when and how we criticize, because strife is far too often caused by unwanted and unwarranted criticism.
Now hear these words of wisdom from Cousin Sol. ‘Whoso LOVETH wisdom rejoiceth his father (makes his father rejoice): but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance (wastes his wealth). (Prov.29:3) And we have a very good example of that in Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son.
And this Proverb is like unto the last one: ‘My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.’ (Prov.27:11)
Ah Friends, as we said, it all comes down to our relationship with Almighty God, whether or not we have the wisdom and common sense to do life in a decent, constructive and LOVING manner.
And these last verses nicely wrap it all up. ‘The fear (reverential awe) of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother; For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.’ (Prov.1:7-9)
That’s it in a nutshell right there my people! The parents ought to embrace and pass on God’s law and consequently wisdom, while the children ought to hear and put it into practice in their own lives. That’s the only way wisdom and understanding will continue to grace our planet.
So please, let’s try and adhere to it nuh; make it the basis of our daily lives, so that we can learn to give and receive wise counsel, and thus greatly enhance our earthly pilgrimage. Much LOVE!
…to choose wisdom over folly is a blessed thing…but it doesn’t just spring up from nowhere…it has to be taught and learned…preferably starting in the home…
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