22 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a disciplined life, a rod of correction, a saving grace, a soulful song, a welcome decision, Amen, beat with a rod, build a house for my name, chastening, christ jesus, correction, covenant, dangerous, deceitful, deliver his soul from hell, discipline, disobedience, do a good job, enormous proportions, evil intent, fellowship, for Jesus, freedom, Friday chant, fruit of righteousness, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, George Elliston, God's great earth, God's greatest creation, gospel truth, grievous, growth, How beautiful a day can be, I will be his father, in Jesus' name, iniquity, invade our souls, joyful cry, joyous, kindness, leggo beast, looking over our shoulders, mankind, massa, maturity, mental, mercy, our benefit, our heavenly Father, out of thy bowels, peaceable, personal expereince, perspective, physical slavery, punishing, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, righteousness, safely, set up thy seed, sleep with thy fathers, standard, step out of line, sun, tempo, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the children of men, the enemy, the Good Book, the heart of God, the rod of men, the stripes, the working class, they days be fulfilled, to heaven, topsy-turvy, truth, unkindness, up in arms, weekend, when kindness touches it, wisdom, workweek, wreak havoc
Hebrews 12:11. Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.
And all over God’s great earth, on this blessed Friday morning in July 2016, the joyful cry of the working class rises like a touching, soulful song to heaven!
‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the workweek is almost over! Thank God that the weekend is upon us, bringing freedom from mental and physical slavery for two big days! We can do whatever we want to do without massa looking over our shoulders! Thank God for Fridays and the weekend!’
Yes friends, it is a viable cry, but we must still be careful about doing what we want over the weekend. We can’t just behave like leggo beast and give the enemy a chance to invade our souls. We need to always be wary of his deceitful tactics to gain entrance to our souls and his evil intent, to wreak havoc there.
Instead, let’s chant our Friday Chant that gives us a better perspective on the use of the weekend. All together now: ‘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.’
Ah mih people, the way we handle the weekend sets the tempo and standard for our new workweek. Unless we are fresh and reinvigorated, we won’t be able to do a good job for Jesus when the time comes. So please be careful and handle the next couple of days in appropriate godly fashion. (smile)
Now here’s a beautiful quote attributed to one George Elliston (1883-1946), a female American journalist and editor who bequeathed a large sum of money to the University of Cincinnati to open a chair in poetry. At some stage of her life, she reputedly proclaimed: ‘How beautiful a day can be when kindness touches it.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my brethren! When kindness touches a day, there’s nothing left but for it to indeed be beautiful, because kindness comes from the heart of God! Oh how our world is dying from unkindness and desperately waiting and desiring to experience much more kindness amongst God’s greatest creation, mankind. And until we achieve that experience, our world will continue to be topsy-turvy, dangerous and deceitful.
But my people, thankfully there’s a saving grace, if you can call it that, displayed in the words of our Bit. ‘Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.’
Yes friends, we can count on our heavenly Father to chasten, to discipline us when we step out of line and follow our own devious devices and plans. Oh, I know from personal experience that it’s not a welcome decision, but it seems to be necessary for our eventual growth and maturity in Christ Jesus.
Anyway, there’s not much we can do about it, except try to give the Lord as few instances as possible to chasten and discipline us. Now let’s continue looking at some scriptural examples of how important chastening is to God. And nobody spoke on it more often than Cousin Sol.
Listen to him. ‘Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with a rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.’ (Prov.23:13-14)
Now I know some of you will be up in arms over those statements, but I’m only quoting the Good Book. And as much as you might dislike punishing your children, yuh better believe that God will punish us, like children, for disobedience. Not necessarily with a rod of correction, but in some manner that He deems suitable.
Now hear what the Lord said to Bruh David when He made His covenant with him. ‘And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes (strokes) of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I put away before thee.’ (2 Sam.7:12-15)
Yes friends the Lord was speaking there about the rise of Cousin Sol. And please note the serious warning about chastening for disobedience, because it hasn’t changed one iota since then.
So my fellow believers, in closing, I just want to remind us that although we don’t like chastening by God, because in the short term it seems a bit on the rough side, be assured that in the long run it will be to our benefit. Our God does NOTHING in our lives that’s not for our benefit.
Now let’s go out and see if we can do as little as possible to deserve His chastening, for that’s wisdom of enormous proportions! Much LOVE!
…to walk this earth successfully…a disciplined life is essential…
P.S. I think I’ve finally gotten the hang of this new Outlook setup. Glory Hallelujah! Much LOVE!
21 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a great family, a positive effect, a positive outlook on life, a smile costs nothing, abundance, as a man chastens his son, blessed day, blessings, bound, brighten someone's day, broken, chastening, clear direction, commandments, consequences, consequences of disobedience, corporal punishment, courage, creativity, crying, curse, discipline, disobedience, divine protection, enjoy a day, everyone smiles in the same language, face muscles, faith, faithfulness, favour, fearful, foolishness, for the present, frown, fruit, fulfillment, full moon, get us down, glory hallelujah, gnarled branches, God's development programme, God's supernatural wisdom, good friends, good health, grace, grievous, grin and bear it, hope, I am blessed, in the heart of a child, in the name of Jesus, Israelites, joyous, loving kindness, magnanimous, magnificent, mercy, Moses, nature, negative stuff, negative word, our heavenly Father, peace, peaceful fruit of righteousness, problems, promotion, prosper, put my hands to, quiet, righteouness, self-control, self-discipline, selfish, smile, spare for his crying, strong will, succeed, success, supernatural strength, talent, the Lord thy god chastens you, the Old Testament, this is the day the Lord has made, Thursday's Blessings, truth, unfriendly, walk in his ways, we will be glad and rejoice in it, wisdom
Hebrews 12:11. Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.
Ah mih people, another beautiful day has begun! The Lord in His awesome grace and mercy has decreed that His servants will enjoy another blessed day! Glory Hallelujah!
And in spite of any negative stuff that’s coming against us, God’s children are able to proudly, truthfully and enthusiastically declare: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’
Yes friends, it doesn’t make any sense to let our problems get us so down that we can’t enjoy a day in the mercy and LOVING-kindness of our heavenly Father, for He will give us the wherewithal to do it if we sincerely ask Him.
And please don’t think that only the days are beautiful, because the nights are too. This morning at 3.30 I was sitting on my porch enjoying the peace and quiet of nature. I was most surprised when I first sat down, raised my head and saw a big, bright, beautiful full moon shining down on me, through an open space between two gnarled branches of the dying ash tree in my front yard. That’s one of the reasons for my late start this morning. (smile)
Anyhow, here’s a li’l something from a plaque I have in my office. It says: ‘Everyone smiles in the same language.’ And isn’t that the glorious and indisputable truth! It certainly is!
That’s why it’s so hard to understand why we don’t smile at each other more often. In fact we smile at each other much less than we previously did. Today’s world has become so selfish, fearful and unfriendly that we find it difficult to share even a simple, easy thing like a smile, which could brighten someone’s day, and have a positive effect on him or her.
A smile costs nothing my people; just the moving of a few face muscles, and less than a frown to boot. So let’s promises ourselves to do some more smiling at each other nuh, cause it’s a language we all understand and appreciate.
And to help us keep that promise let’s lift up our spirits by declaring our Thursday Blessings, for remember, a blessing’s not a blessing until it’s declared. So as one now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Awright mih breddren, let’s go out and enjoy those blessings now, doing God’s work, smiling and sharing with those less fortunate than us, for that’s what our magnanimous and magnificent God desires of us. But remember also to keep the possible consequences of disobedience in the back of one’s mind, as our Bit informs us.
‘Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.’
Ah friends, none of us like to hear those words, chastening, and discipline, much less experience them. (smile) But the fact is they are a big part of our everyday lives; a major aspect of God’s development program. (smile)
‘Hn!’ many of us sadly mutter as we contemplate that statement and some of the chastening that we’ve recently been through, or are currently going through. Unfortunately though my people that’s God’s way, and there’s not much we can do about it, except try to have as few reasons as possible for Him to chasten us.
Now let’s delve into some scriptures that show how important chastening is in God’s world. And we’ll go all the way back to the Old Testament for our first scripture. Here Moses is warning the Israelites about their future behaviour.
‘Thou shalt also consider (know) in thine heart, that as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee. Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.’ (Deut.8:5-6) It couldn’t be any plainer than that friends.
Now listen to Cousin Sol, who had a lot to say on the subject. ‘Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying (don’t allow yourself to be distracted by his crying).’ (Prov.19:18) Yes my people, too many of us allow our children’s crying to dissuade us when we are chastening them.
More Cousin Sol: ‘Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.’ (Prov.22:15) Hn! And the scholars explain that verse thus: ’22:15. Corporal punishment is necessary for children due to inherent foolishness.’
Now we won’t get into any arguments about that particular scripture here. We’ll close with some words from Ethan the Ezrahite from Psalm 89 – God’s sure promises to David.
‘If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgements; If they break (profane) my statutes, and keep not (obey) my commandments; Then will I visit (attend to) their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless my LOVING-kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail (to be false).’ (Ps.89:30-33)
That’s the way it is my people, we just have to learn to grin and bear it. So let’s go out today and smile and be obedient to God’s word, for that is the ultimate test of wisdom. Much LOVE!
… three ways to avoid chastening…obedience…obedience…obedience…
P.S. I want to apologize for a typo I made yesterday. I gave the scripture reference for a Proverb as 13:12; it ought to have been 3:12. Now let’s go and see what games Outlook has to play with me today. They played some yesterday, but not as much as the day before. Ah Lord eh! Much LOVE!
20 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future, a LOVING Father, alive, almighty god, Amen, anarchy, breath of God, brethren, Carrying a grudge, chastening, complaining, discipline, do our best, errors, exercised, expectant faith, faith, forgiveness, friends, fruit, geeks, glad to be alive, glory hallelujah, God loves us, God's children, gospel truth, grace, grateful, grievous, grudge, halfway home, hates his son, hope, horrors, human, hungry hope, I'm not loking back, Jesus, joy, joyous, Laodicea, looking ahead, LOVE, mercies, Microsoft, mistakes, my hands are on the plough, obedience, obedience to god, P.S. I Love You, peaceable fruit, plough, promises, rebuke, repent, righteousness., selfishness, sense of purpose, simpleminded, spare the rod, steal my joy, summer's day, take it to heart, the answer, the breath of life, the present, trained, trials, tribulations, troubles, truth, undisciplined, walk the straight and narrow path, Wednesday Wail, whining, wisdom, zealous
Hebrews 12:11. Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.
Oh friends, another glorious summer’s day seems to be in the offing! Let’s give thanks and praise for it and ask for guidance to do our best, as we walk the straight and narrow path that leads to Jesus!
Sometimes though, the road just gets frustrating and annoying, especially when you are just an innocent victim, as I was yesterday with all the new changes in Outlook.
Yuh know, as I told some of you last night, after finally figuring out how to do my thing, I then went to send out the Bit, but I got all sorts of horrors in trying to do that. They kept telling me that there was an error message and the Bit couldn’t be sent, to try later.
Well the later trying didn’t do anything and I eventually had to send them out in smaller groups. Now all they had to tell me was the groups were two large. Steups! But that was too simple for the simple-minded geeks who run the show.
Chuh! So last night I spent a whole lot of time making my groups small enough to fit their new scheme. And they didn’t even make that easy to do.
However, it’s a new day, with new mercies and promises and grace and forgiveness, and all the other good things our wonderful God has planned for us, so I won’t let Microsoft Outlook steal my joy, as I allowed them to do yesterday! (smile)
And I have the perfect antidote for that in a quote from my ‘I LOVE YOU’ Poster, which says: ‘Carrying a grudge is like a run in a stocking – it can only get worse. Forgiveness is the answer.’ Gospel truth friends, gospel truth!
So, regardless of the troubles they cause me, I’ll just forgive Microsoft Outlook (smile) and continue to enjoy this glorious day the Lord has blessed me to see. And all God’s children declared a loud and grateful ‘Amen!’
And since today is Wednesday, it’s only appropriate that we declare our Wednesday Wail. So with expectant faith, hungry hope and a strong sense of purpose, let’s 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!’
Ah mih people, there’s not a day that goes by that I’m not thankful for that beautiful breath of God that courses through my ole bod! I surely hope that you feel the same way, because in truth, that’s the ONLY way for God’s redeemed and sanctified children to feel! Glory to God!
It’s so great to be alive, despite the numerous trials and tribulations that come against us! And we can say that with the utmost confidence and truth because our hands are securely on the plough and we’re looking forward to the glorious future that Jesus has planned for us! Oh what a future that will be my believing brethren!
But at the same time, since we’re only human and thus liable to make serious errors and mistakes, we also need to be able to accept God’s discipline without too much whining and complaining. Our God LOVES us, there’s no doubt about that, but like a LOVING Father, He also disciplines us when we go astray.
Unfortunately though, as our Bit so rightly points out, discipline makes us unhappy in the short term, but in the long run, it works significantly on our behalf. ‘Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.’ Yeh friends, chastening has never been a well-liked human characteristic.
And most of us old fogies can remember those days of some serious chastening when we re growing up. Plenty of us ran and hid when we knew that it was in the offing, but oftimes that made no difference. We still got it whenever we showed up.
But you know what friends, that chastening, that sense of discipline, usually benefited us in the long run. It made us the fine, godly people we are today. Sadly though, too many of us, as parents refused to administer any chastening and discipline to our children, that’s why they are the undisciplined way they are today.
Now we didn’t need to go to some of the lengths that our parents did, but by going to the other extreme, we did them a great disservice. Because, if there’s one thing a society needs to grow peacefully it’s discipline, otherwise anarchy, a free for all and total selfishness is what we get, something like what we have today.
Enough preaching though, let’s look at some scriptures that corroborate our sentiments. First up are these words of wisdom from Cousin Sol. ‘For whom the Lord LOVETH he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.’ (Prov.3:12)
More Cousin Sol: ‘He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that LOVETH him chasteneth him betimes (promptly).’ (Prov.13:24)
And we’ll end with this one from Jesus in the Revelation of John. It’s contained in the message to the church at Laodicea. ‘As many as I LOVE, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.’ (Rev.3:19)
Yes friends, it’s all there in black and white in the Good Book! Please let’s take it to heart and do our best not to complain too much when we are rightfully chastened of anybody, especially Almighty God. That’s wisdom of the highest heights! Much LOVE!
…obedience to God…is the highest form of discipline…
18 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundance, adrenalin, almighty god, aura of love, blessings, bombarded, bonds, buffeted, Caesar, Christian workers, Christians, circumstances, complaining, confidence, conquerors, cruel, crying, dreams, enlist God's help, enthusiasm, fear, glorious endeavour, godly, gospel, have life in abundance, holy spirit, humble servants, imagination, imprisonment, improvement, in chains, influential audience, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, lackadaisical, lies, LOVE, maturity, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, motors firing on all cylinders, oppressive, power to dream, Praise the Lord, preach the gospel, purpose of living, righteous, robert h schuller, Roman, sacrilege, salvation, sin, sovereignty, spiritual armour, spiritual strength, steadfast faith, strife filled, stuff dreams are made of, surrender, taunts, TGIM! Thank God it's Monday!, the furtherance of the gospel, trust, truth, understand, ungodly world, want you to know, war-torn, wiles, win souls for Christ, wisdom, without fear, work world
Philippians 1:12. But I would ye should understand, (want you to know) brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out (turned out) rather unto the furtherance of the gospel.
‘TGIM! TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday!’ the Christian workers joyfully declared. ‘Thank God it’s Monday and we get to go back out into the cruel and oppressive work world and win souls for Christ! What a glorious endeavour!’
Oh friends, that’s the stuff dreams are made of! And please note that our wise and wonderful Creator would not have given us the gift of imagination, the power to dream, if He hadn’t wanted us to use it.
And we must not dream too small either. I read just recently, I believe it’s in one of Gramps Schuller’s devotions (Robert H. Schuller), where he said that if you could accomplish your dream on your own, then it was too small. Our dreams have to be big enough so that we need to enlist God’s help with them.
And that’s gospel truth my people! Dreams by definition are supposed to be bigger than us. And can you believe what monumental improvement, thinking like we opened with, would make to our war-torn and strife filled world! Mama Mia!
But sadly I don’t see that change, that upliftment in Christian thinking happening any time soon. Thankfully though, there are no limits, no restrictions on dreaming. (smile) Now let’s keep that dream alive by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with the same enthusiasm and pizazz that we began with.
So in sweet harmony and strong, melodious voice, let’s sing. ‘‘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 was beautiful my people! You could see the fire in Jesus’ eyes and the energy in His spirit as He vigorously swung His conductor’s baton, guiding us in song.
Wow! What a wonderful beginning to this Monday morning! And with our motors firing on all cylinders, and the adrenalin coursing mightily through our bodies, let’s go out into the sinful and disgusting world and do what we need to do to truly win souls for Christ!
And all God’s people gave a purposeful shout of ‘Praise the Lord, for He is indeed worthy of our praise!’
Oh friends, the ole fella’s certainly on a roll this morning! (smile) But what’s the purpose of living, if we can’t be in high spirits more often that we’re in low ones eh? What did Jesus say about His coming to earth? He came that we, the sheep of His marvellous flock could have life in abundance. (John 10:10)
And it would be a sacrilege, a sin, to live an abundant life in a lackadaisical, doh care manner. Life was meant to be lived my brethren, so let’s live it nuh! And that doesn’t mean in lustful and worldly fashion, but in a godly and righteous manner.
Now I want to introduce our Bit here that shows how our God works in mysterious though sometimes difficult ways for His followers. We’ll continue today, from where we left off yesterday, that is with the missive that Bruh Paul wrote to the Philippians while in jail in Rome.
‘But I would ye should understand, (want you to know) brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out (turned out) rather unto the furtherance of the gospel.’ Now that’s a very interesting scripture my people. But let’s keep reading, before we try to dissect it.
‘So that my bonds (chains) in (for) Christ are manifest (well known) in all the palace (by the palace guard), and in all other places (the rest of places). And many (most) of the brethren in the Lord, waxing (becoming) confident by my bonds (chains), are much more bold to speak the word without fear.’ (Phil.113-14)
Ah friends, what a strange, but rather efficient way to spread the gospel. But our God is full of works that we can’t understand. Now the listen to the scholars: 1:12. Things… have fallen out means “have occurred.” Paul tells the readers that his imprisonment has occurred for the purpose of furthering or spreading the gospel.
The word rather suggests that the Philippians were anticipating bad news as a result of Paul’s captivity. He informs them rather to the contrary. In His wisdom and sovereignty God has deliberately designed His servant’s present circumstances, as undesirable as they may be, for the gospel’s benefit.
Two positive results of Paul’s imprisonment are given in verses 13,14. (1) Caesar’s palace learned the gospel from him (v.13); and (2) many Roman Christians were stirred to preach the gospel during his bondage (v.14).’
And who says our God doesn’t move in mysterious ways eh? The Lord caused Paul to be imprisoned so he could have the close attention of the palace guards. If he had been preaching out on the street corner, he would never have had the undivided attention of such a large and influential audience.
And even better yet, because of Bruh Paul’s captivity, the brethren outside got confident, found confidence in the Lord and began preaching the gospel too without fear. Now friends, those last two words -without fear – are very important, because they show the level of maturity and spiritual strength that Roman Christians got from the whole situation.
Likewise my fellow believers, many of us might be in tight or tough circumstances and wondering why, but the Lord has obviously put us there for a purpose. So please, instead of crying and complaining, consider Bruh Paul’s attitude and look around and see if there be any you can minister to, for God might just have put you there for that very purpose.
And most important of all; please, let’s all preach the gospel of Christ WITHOUT FEAR, for in the gospel itself, we have oodles of protection. Much LOVE!
…in whatever circumstances a Christian finds him or herself…they are expected to share the good news of Christ…
17 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a godly manner, a positive idea, begun a good work, being confident, blessed Trinity, casting down, character, cherubim, Christian brethren, common sense, conduct, conform, desire, discernment, distort the message, early in the morning, earth, eternal security, eye made blind by sin, fellowship, financial support, forgiveness, fruit, glassy sea, glorify our heavenly Father, glorifying God, God in three persons, God is faithful, God's will, golden crowns, grace, guidance, holy holy holy, imprisonment, in the mind of a believer, joy, judgement, knowledge, LOVE, making request, mature, may abound, measuring up, merciful, mercy, mighty, moral life, My walk, of this very thing, our song shall rise to thee, perfect in power, Philippi, Philippians, powerful force, praise, prayer, purity, purpose, reinforcement, remembrance, righteous fruit, righteousness, robert h schuller, run, saving work, sea, seraphim, sky, spiritual strength, spreading the good news, standards, static, Sunday, thank God, thanksgiving, the darkness, the day of Jesus Christ, the finish line, the gospel, the Holy Spirit, the Lord's tutelage, the Sabbath of the Lord, the saints adore thee, thy works shall praise thy name, truth, walking in God's will, will perfor it, wisdom, worship, worthwhile things
Philippians 1:6. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Ah friends, it’s the best day of the week – Sunday –the Sabbath of the Lord! That means it’s time for worship and praise and thanksgiving and fellowship, so that we can glorify our heavenly Father together and receive His endless LOVE, grace, mercy and forgiveness in a renewal of our spiritual strength and well-being! Wow!
And what better way to begin our day than with a song of praise. So please sing with me, this old but highly treasured hymn, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy.’ Let’s raise the roof with our sincere and heartfelt praise, so that heaven stands up and takes notice.
‘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!’
Yes my brethren, a most appropriate way to get us clearly tuned into our God, with no static buzzing around to distort the message, ready to hear His word and consequently have His Holy Spirit move in a godly manner within us.
And from Gramps Schuller’s (Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional comes this prayer titled ‘MY WALK.’ I might have shared it before, but what’s to stop us from sharing it again eh? (smile)
Please pray with me. ‘O God, I’m inspired, for you have just impressed this truth into my mind. The most powerful force in the world is a positive idea in the mind of a believer who is walking in your will! I now reach forth my life and say, “God, put my life into the centre of your will.” Amen.’
Now I do hope we all mean that friends, because there’s really nothing as powerful as a positive idea in the mind of an obedient follower of Christ! And if we’re truly sincere, God will put just such an idea into our minds and cause us to successfully run with it, right to the finish line.
Now most likely whatever God puts in our minds to do won’t be easy, but we know that He will ALWAYS assist us in any task we undertake on His behalf!
No wonder Bruh Paul could write to the Philippians: ‘I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy. For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.’ (Phil.1:3-6)
Yes my fellow believers, Bruh Paul is letting the Philippians know that he continually thanks God for their help in spreading the good news of Christ, even from the very first day that they heard it, right up until the time of his writing. He was also grateful for their prayers and financial support. The church at Philippi was a strong one early on in its formation. Thus Bruh Paul could write the words of our Bit, confident that they would grow and mature under the Lord’s tutelage and guidance.
And the scholars offer these explanations. ‘1:6. Will perform it is said “will finish it.” Paul is convinced that the work of grace that God began in the Philippians at conversion will be divinely continued until the day of Jesus Christ. That is, the Lord will keep working in these believers until Jesus returns to earth, at which point He will finish His work, bringing it to completion.
This speaks of the Christian’s eternal security. For God had a purpose in view when He began His saving work in the Philippians, and that purpose will neither be abandoned nor unrealized.’
Now friends, doesn’t that just give us encouragement and reassurance, since it’s the same programme the Lord has in mind for each believer. His avowed desire and purpose is to conform us as closely as possible to His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and once He’s begun that process, He won’t stop until He takes us home or Christ returns to earth, whichever comes first.
Please remember my Christian brethren that God is ever-faithful, and once He takes you under His comforting wings, He’ll never let anything untoward happen to you. In other words, we are secure in His everlasting LOVE, care and concern.
And Bruh Paul ends this section with more reinforcement. ‘And this I pray, that your LOVE may abound yet more and more in knowledge and judgement (discernment): That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.’ (Phil.1:9-11)
Oh my people, the same expectations have been set in place for us in these modern times. Nothing has really changed. God’s plan is still the same for all of us.
And the scholars explain. 1:10. Things that are excellent means “things that really matter.” This refers to important issues. As the Philippians’ LOVE increases in knowledge and discernment (v.9), they will be able to accurately distinguish the vital and worthwhile things in life from those that are not.
Contextually, the readers’ LOVE for Paul vexes them as they are anxious over his imprisonment. He wants them to perceive his imprisonment as being among “those things that really matter” because of the good that God will bring out of it. The purpose for such discrimination is that ye may be sincere (or, morally pure) and without offense till the day of Christ.’
And re ‘1:11. This verse could be translated, “Filled with the fruit that is righteousness, which comes through Jesus Christ for the purpose of glorifying and praising God.” The believer who is pure and without offense before God (v.10) has divinely developed in him a practical “righteousness” or daily moral life that measures up to God’s standards in character and conduct. The ultimate purpose for this “righteousness” is to glorify God.’
Ah friends, that says it all. So let’s ponder what we’ve said today and see if we’re measuring up to God’s standards, then sincerely ask Him to help us do better. That’s both common sense and eternal wisdom! Much LOVE!
…without exception…believers are expected to bear righteous fruit…for the purpose of glorifying Almighty God…
13 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a brand new day, a glorious future, a load of care, alive and kicking, all is lost, angels, believers in Jesus Christ, blessed shalt thou be, blessings, burdened, cattle, Charels Stanley, comfort, commandments, consequences, count your blessings, day and night, discouraged, enthusiasm, every doubt will fly, every sphere of life, everyday actions, eyes fixed straight ahead, focusing, fractious, glad to be alive, glory, glory hallelujah, glory to God, God is over all, God's will, great or small, halfway home, hands on the plough, hearken to God's voice, heavenly Father, help, home on high, honour, in the city, in the field, insignificant thnings, journey's end, joyful time, keep singing, kine, life's billows, LOVE, LOVE of God, loving kindness, magnanimous, magnificent, mea culpa, miracles, miserable, money cannot buy, name them one by one, new mercies, not turning back, obedient, obey God, offspring, overtake thee, praise, praise and worship, reward in heaven, see what God has done, Selah, sense of purpose, set thee on high, sincere, stipulated condition, take for granted, tempest tossed, thankful, the breath of God, the breath of life, the conflict, the cross, the fruit of thy body, truth, watches over us, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, zenith
Deuteronomy 28:3. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
Welcome to another brand new day with brand new mercies and LOVING-kindness my fellow believers in Jesus Christ!
Now I’ve been guided to open today’s proceedings with this li’l ditty that we all know and LOVE, but don’t, or very seldom practice. Otherwise we wouldn’t be so fractious and miserable, and there’d be much more of the LOVE of God in us, shown through our everyday actions.
So let’s all sing now in joyful but serious and sincere enthusiasm, truth and belief, ‘Count Your Blessings.’ And let each of us count the blessings in our own lives as we sing, so that it will be more real to each of us.
‘When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done. Refrain: Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your blessings, see what God has done! Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your many blessings, see what God has done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear? Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly, And you will keep singing as the days go by. Refrain: Count your blessings…
When you look at others with their lands and gold, Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold; Count your many blessings—money cannot buy Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high. Refrain: Count your blessings…
So, amid the conflict whether great or small, Do not be discouraged, God is over all; Count your many blessings, angels will attend, Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end. Refrain: Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.’
Yes friends, if we have counted our many blessings as we sang that wonderful hymn of praise and worship, I am sure that we all have been surprised and amazed at all the wonderful things our magnificent and magnanimous God has done in our lives.
The problem though is many of those things might be small and somewhat insignificant, so we just roll along taking them for granted. But just stop for a moment and consider what our lives would be like if all those blessings we’ve named were absent from our lives eh. Selah!
Yes my brethren, our lives would be nowhere near as happy and comfortable as they now are. So the lesson is to never take those small, insignificant things for granted, because that’s where God works most of His miracles in our lives.
And all God’s children loudly and gratefully declare: ‘All praise, honour and glory be to our heavenly Father, who watches over us day and night. Guides and protects us, And never lets us out of His sight!’
Ah mih people, I can’t help but be amazed at the greatness and wonder of the awesome God we serve! Now, since it’s Wednesday, let’s declare our Wednesday Wail with enthusiasm, truth and a strong sense of purpose.
Wailing: ‘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 my fellow faithful believers, this world might not be the greatest, but every morning we awake, we should be exceedingly thankful for that breath of God that’s still flowing through our bodies, because it means we’re alive and kicking and have so much to look forward to as we make our pilgrim’s journey with the Lord on our side.
We just have to put our hands strong and steadfast to the plough and keep looking ahead to the promise of a great and glorious future with Jesus! Believe me friends, it will be such a joyful time! Glory Hallelujah!
That brings us to our Bit; such a glorious promise! ‘Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.’
Yes my precious people of God, like the scholars inform us: ’28:3-6. These verses contain six blessings that extend to every sphere of life.’
Now let’s check out the other five. ‘Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body (offspring), and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine (cattle), and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store (kneading bowl). Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.’ (Deut.28:4-6)
Now what could be better than that eh mih breddren? Nothing really! But unfortunately there’s a stipulated condition of God’s before all of that can happen.
Listen up: ‘And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.’ (Deut.28:1-2)
Yes Friends, for the blessings to flow, we need to be obedient to God’s will and purpose! But the beautiful part is that when we’re obedient, the blessings shall overtake us! We don’t have to go chasing them, they will chase us, and eventually overtake us! Glory to God my people!
So please, let’s be wise today, be obedient and sincere, and dwell on God’s word, so that the promised blessings can run us down and overtake us. Now that is indeed wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!
…as Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) so rightly says…the best way to live this life…is to simply obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him…
P.S. Sincere mea culpas. The computer and I were both slow this morning. (smile) Much LOVE!
12 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 24 karat, Abraham Isaac and Jacob, anointest my head with oil, Bless His Holy Name, blessings, comfort me, confidence, died and gone to heaven, earthly pathway, encouragement, fear no evil, follow me, for His name's sake, gives food to all flesh, glory, glory to God, golden day, goodness, grace, green pastures, heaven, his mercy endureth for ever, honour, hurry, I AM, I shall not want, in due season, in the presence of mine enemies, Jesus Christ, leads and guides, LOVE, man goes to work, meat from God, mercy, mercy. all the days of my life, my cup runneth over, my friend Jesus, nature, omnipotent god, our Lord and Saviour, paths of righteousness, praise, preparest a table, preservation of nature, redeemed, rescued, restoreth my soul, riches, share His love, song of praise and worship, still waters, swell in the house of the Lord, thankfulness, thanks, the beloved of God, the eyes of all, the glory of God, the God of heaven, the Holy Spirit, The Lord is my shepherd, the Lord of hosts, the valley of the shadow of death, thou givest them their food, thy rod, thy staff, trust, truth, Tuesday Mantra, wait upon thee, wisdom, words of truth, worry, worship the Lord, young lions
Psalm 145:15. The eyes of all wait upon thee (look expectantly to you); and thou givest them their meat (food) in due season.
Aye mih people, welcome to another 24 karat golden day…!
And all God’s people gloriously proclaimed: ‘Glory to God! Bless His Holy Name! And also bless the wonderful name of His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! And last but not least, bless the name of the Holy Spirit who leads and guides us safely along life’s rough earthly pathway!’
Yes friends, how good and how right it is for us to give praise and thanks and glory and honour to our awesome God!
So let’s continue in that vein nuh and give more thanks and praise in grateful song by singing this immortal psalm of Bruh David – The Lord is my Shepherd.
Please sing with me: ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me besides the still waters: He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me (always); thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever…and ever. Amen!’
Wow mih breddren! What an awesome and harmonious song of praise and worship, of confidence and encouragement! The heavens surely stood up and took notice!
Now let’s reinforce all of that by enthusiastically and sincerely declaring our Tuesday Mantra. ‘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!’
Mama mia! It couldn’t get much better than that my fellow believers! Being God’s beloved and Jesus’ friend…which no one can take away for us…Hn! It’s so encouraging and reassuring, like…like we’ve died and gone to heaven! (smile)
Sorry though, we’re still here on earth. But that’s no problem because down here our wonderful God also looks after us with compassion and LOVING-kindness. Just listen to our Bit. ‘The eyes of all wait upon thee (look expectantly to you); and thou givest them their meat (food) in due season.’
Wow! What a merciful, magnificent and magnanimous Deity we serve! Shout His name out people: ‘The Lord God Jehovah; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! The great I AM, Our Creator, our Healer, Our Provider, our Comforter…!’
We could go on forever and ever calling out the great names of our omnipotent God! Let’s shift though to checking out some scripture that lends credence to our Bit. Listen to these words of truth from Psalm 136 – Praise for the Lord’s past and present blessings.
The psalmist declares of our God: ‘Who remembered us in our low estate (lowly state): for his mercy endureth for ever. And hath redeemed (rescued) us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever. Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.’ (Ps.136: 23-26)
And so should we my people, because God’s undeserving grace and mercy are always available to us if we sincerely, and humbly, ask for them. Now hear these awesome words from Psalm 104 – God’s preservation of nature.
‘The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God. The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens. Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening. O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches (possessions).
So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable (teeming things), both small and great beasts (living creatures). There go the ships: there is that leviathan (a large sea creature of unknown identity), whom thou hast made (formed) to play therein.
These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat (food) in due season. That (what) thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth. The glory of God shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works.’ (Ps.104: 21-31)
Oh friends, what illuminating words! I never intended to quote that much of the psalm, but it just seemed like such a natural progression, showing us how all the things and creatures of the earth, even man, depended on their Maker, the Lord of Hosts.
And we’ll end with a telling verse from Bruh Paul, when the people at Lystra wanted to worship and offer sacrifices to him and Barnabas after they healed a crippled man.
‘Nevertheless he (God) left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.’ (Acts 14:17)
Yes friends, it is our most merciful God who gives us all that we have! Please let’s never forget that, and consequently behave as we ought to; with thankfulness and praise and worship of His glorious Deity! For that is indeed wisdom of the ages! Much LOVE!
…O worship the Lord in truth…all you His creation…
11 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, aura of love, beast of the field, bright and bubbly, bright and early, chirpy, complaining, confidence, conquerors, Creator of the universe, disobedient, do unto Jesus, earthly life, endureth through all generations, enthusiasm. joy, everlasting kingdom, evil, faith, fellowship, fools, friends, give drink, glorious kingdom, goodness, groaning, holy spirit, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, kudos, lethargic, lies, LOVE, love that day, loving kindness, make his face shine, makes glad, meat in due season, meet the enemy, method to my madness, miserable complaining, moaning, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Moses, oil, open thine hand, peace, prosperity, quench their thirst, reap corn, rebellious, reconciliation, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, repentance, rest, salvation, satisfies the desires, sour, sow peas, springs, steadfast faith, surrender, tailspin, taunts, TGIM! Thank God it's Monday!, the eyes of all, the heart of man, the Promised Land, tired, truth, ungodly world, ungrateful, valleys, victory, wait upon thee, wake up and smell the coffee, weary souls, week of work, weekend, wiles, wine and roses, wisdom
Psalm 145:15. The eyes of all wait upon thee (look expectantly to you); and thou givest them their meat (food) in due season.
‘Monday, Monday! Oh how I just LOVE that day! Monday, Monday! Don’t you ever go away! TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday!’
Yes friends, there is method to my madness. (smile) I’m figuring that if we hear that often enough, Monday’s might just grow on us like Friday did. So in future, when Mondays roll around, as indeed they will, we won’t’ be so sour and miserable and complaining, but greet it with great enthusiasm and a sincere joy to get out there and do whatever we have to do unto Jesus, and not unto man!
Ah mih people, the ole fella has to keep on trying to get us out bright and early and chirpy and chippy, so we can truly enjoy this earthly life, while diligently working on Jesus’ behalf.
Now I know some of you are tired and lethargic, moaning and groaning and complaining about my li’l chat because you did not do as you should have over the weekend. But not to worry, we have something that will brighten your spirit and raise your adrenalin level so that you can go out bright and bubbly, expecting victory. It’s called our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. Let’s sing it as thought we truly mean it nuh.
As one harmonious 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!’
Good going friends, good going! Our choirmaster Jesus was pleased! Yuh see what happens when you put your all into something! So now with our motors up and running, let’s go out into the crazy, wicked world and do whatever Jesus has called us to do nuh.
That brings us to our Bit which verily supports all of our contentions above. (smile) But before we get to it, let’s check out the two verses before it.
‘Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon thee (look expectantly to you); and thou givest them their meat (food) in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfies the desire of every living thing.’ (Psalm 145:13-16)
Yes my brethren, Bruh David said it, so there must be a whole lot of truth to it! He extols the Lord’s graciousness in this most excellent psalm of praise! And if you don’t believe that, then listen to this from Psalm 104 – God’s preservation of nature.
The psalmist unequivocally declares: ‘He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses (donkeys) quench their thirst. By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.
He watereth the hills from his (upper) chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works, He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb (vegetation) for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth; and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart. ‘ (Ps.104: 10-15)
Oh my brethren, with all of that – and there’s much more if you want to read all of Psalm 104 – how can we ever doubt the goodness, the LOVING-kindness, the wisdom of our wonderful God eh? Only a fool would dare to do that!
Unfortunately though, currently there are way too many fools in the Lord’s great universe. We’re trying our very best to take him out of our society, which is a fool’s wisdom, and then when our world goes into a serious tailspin, with disasters, wars and all kinds of negative happenings across the globe, we sit back and foolishly wonder why.
Steups! Oh friends, if we insist on removing the Creator of the universe and all therein from His universe, which is really impossible, what do we expect eh? Do we expect to get wine and roses and song and heartwarming kudos for removing Him from our society?
Not on your life! We’ll get what we justly deserve, what He’s promised from day one to those who are disobedient to His Word and Will; negative happenings! Yuh see what He did to the rebellious, ungrateful Jews in the wilderness; earthquakes, snakebites and wandering around for forty years, till all of those who had come out of Egypt had died.
Not even Moses made it over to the Promised Land because he angered the Lord. So friends how can we expect anything else but negative consequences for our foolish rebellion eh? We might get away with it for a while, but eventually it’s all going to catch up to us. Remember our God is patient and longsuffering, but He’s not a patsy, a walkover.
Please, let’s wake up and smell the coffee nuh, and realize the error of our ways and wisely return to His fold through repentance and reconciliation based on Jesus’ work at the cross. For that is indeed wisdom of the highest order! Much LOVE!
…you can’t sow peas…and expect to reap corn…likewise you can’t be blatantly disobedient…and expect to receive prosperity…
10 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abuse, action, ask in prayer, ask of God, at the last day, attitude that makes sense, barren, be thou removed, being obedient to His word, belief, believe only, believing in jesus, Bethany, carry the day, cast into the sea, caterwauling, celebrate, circumstances, cleanse our sinful souls, complain, complaints, crucified, cry, dead, died to save us all, doubt not, eternal life, faith, fear not, fig tree, followers of Christ, forgiveness, gifts, God's plan for us, grace, hang nail, hung and suffered there, Jairus, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the ONLY ONE, joyful, Lazarus, let us rejoice and be glad in it, live, LOVE, love Him too, LOVE in action, loved, Martha, mercy, method to God's madness, our Lord and Saviour, pain, pains he had to bear, pampered people, pay the price of sin, planet earth God's marvellous creation, praise, reconcile us to the Father, redeeming blood, sacrifice, salvation, selflessly, she shall be made whole, sinless, suffering, synagogue ruler, talk a good talk, thanks, the beginning of time, the glory of God, the resurrection, There is a green hill far away, this is the day the Lord has made, trials, tribulations, trust, truth, try his works to do., unlock the gate of heav'n, walk, withered away
Luke 8:50. But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.
Ah friends, once more we have been blessed with another wonderful day on God’s marvellous creation called planet earth! And believe me, there’s method to God’s madness for allowing us to see another day. It means we still have things to do in the great plan that He’s mapped out for us since the beginning of time.
So let’s be joyful and declare as the psalmist did: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24) Yes my fellow believers, under the circumstances, it’s the only attitude that makes sense.
And furthermore, since the psalmist wrote those words, we have even more reason to celebrate because our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ died to cleanse our sinful souls, reconcile us to the Father and offer us the magnificent gifts of salvation and eternal life by simply believing in Him and being obedient to His Word! Wow! What a Saviour!
And this summer Sunday morning I’d like us to sing an old hymn, a favourite of mine in my youth, which tells of Jesus’ great sacrifice on our behalf. It’s called, ‘There is a green hill far away.’
Please sing loudly and lustily with me. ‘There is a green hill far away, Without a city wall, Where the dear Lord was crucified, Who died to save us all. We may not know, we cannot tell, What pains he had to bear, But we believe it was for us He hung and suffered there.
There was no other good enough To pay the price of sin. He only could unlock the gate Of heav’n and let us in. Oh, dearly, dearly has he LOVED! And we must LOVE him too, And trust in his redeeming blood, And try his works to do.’
Oh precious people, it is so good to offer up praise and thanks to our God after what He’s done for us. Just look at it nuh; Jesus was the ONLY one who could unlock heaven’s’ gate so that we might enter because He was sinless! And he did it so selflessly, enduring the horrendous pain without any complaints!
Meanwhile, we soft, pampered people today, cry and complain so much if we have even a li’l hang nail. (smile) I don’t think many, if any of us, could have borne even one tenth of Jesus’ suffering without going crazy from the abuse and the pain.
However, thankfully, we’re not called on to do that, but we are called on to bear some trials and tribulations in this earthly life, which we should try to do without too much caterwauling and complaining. And the formula for doing that is given at the end of the hymn above. ‘LOVE Jesus, trust in His redeeming blood and diligently try to do His work.’
It’s all right there in a nutshell friends, just waiting for us to put it into action. And that’s exactly where we as supposed followers of Christ fall down. We talk a good talk, but can’t match it with our walk. And that’s not right, because the only way others will want to come to Jesus is by seeing His grace and truth, mercy, forgiveness and LOVE in action in our lives.
And it’s high time we start doing better, if we want to carry the day for Jesus. But we need to first believe that it’s possible and then that we have the necessary parts to do it.
Listen to Jesus’ admonition to Jairus the synagogue ruler when he heard that his daughter had died. ‘But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.’
Yes friends, the starting point for everything is BELIEF! If you don’t believe, generally speaking, it won’t happen. Now let’s look at a couple of other instances where Jesus invoked belief.
Let’s begin with His early morning journey from Bethany to Jerusalem. He was hungry and approached a fig tree expecting to find figs because it was fig season. However the tree was barren of all fruit. Jesus then declared to the fig tree: ‘Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.’ (Matt.21:19)
Obviously the disciples were amazed at the fig tree’s sudden demise. ‘Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’ (Matt.21:21-22)
And friends, please note that the important word in that last sentence is ‘BELIEVING!’ If you don’t believe, all your prayers are useless.
Now let’s turn to our final example, that time when Jesus heard that His friend Lazarus was deathly ill, but He stayed where He was for another two days before returning to Bethany. By then Lazarus had died and his sister Martha met Jesus on the way and criticized Him.
‘Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead (may die), yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.’ (John 11:21-27)
Ah friends, Martha surely believed, but she did not understand Jesus’ intention to raise her brother in the current time. Thus when they took Him to Lazarus’ tomb and He ordered them to roll away the stone from the mouth, ‘Martha saith unto him, Lord by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? (John 11:39-40)
And we all know that after Jesus spoke to His Father, for the people’s sake, He ordered Lazarus to come out and he came out, alive and well and many of those who saw Jesus’ work, believed.
I ask us now friends, do we believe that strongly so that we can see the glory of God? For all of our sakes, I sincerely hope so. Much LOVE!
…without belief…not much is possible…
09 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a grain of mustard seed, Anselm, be not afraid, be of good comfort, become more, belief, believe only, believing in God, bless, build our faith, captured by the enemy, Creator, daily challenges, do more, don't stop believing, dream, dwell in heaven, empowerment, encourage each other, epileptic, faith, faithful, fasting, fear not, focus, forgiveness, fuel, fuel that will keep us going, further the gospel of Christ, glory, go in peace, good, good news, grace, grief, Hades, healed, holy spirit, honour, impossible, in Jesus' name, inspire others, issue of blood, Jairus, lack of belief, Leaders, learn more, lost, LOVE, Lucifer, mercy, nothing shall be impossible, obedient, on the spur of the moment, only begotten Son, others, ourselves, praise, prayer, provider, rebuked the devil, relevant elements of our faith, remove, revere, ruler, sacrifice, saved, she shall be made whole, synagogue, thanks, thy faith hath made thee whole, to rest on God, touch His garments, truth, unbelief, worthless sinners
Luke 8:50. But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.
‘Oh Lord we give you praise and thanks, honour and glory, because through your LOVE, your grace and mercy, you sacrificed your only begotten Son, so that we worthless sinners could be saved, every single one. Thank you Lord for your forgiveness.
From the very bottom of our hearts, we sincerely thank you for Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, and we bless and revere your holy name. We promise to be always faithful and obedient to your word, so that one day we can dwell securely and joyfully with you in heaven. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!’
Oh friends that’s just a li’l ditty I concocted on the spur of the moment to begin our daily meditations. It’s not spectacular, but it does contain all the important and relevant elements of our faith and hopefully it will bring our focus to rest on Almighty God, our Creator and Provider as we try to build our faith, encourage each other and further the good news, the wonderful gospel of Christ.
And to help us do that, check out these two quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us. And the first quote provocatively proclaims: ‘DON’T stop believing… Every day we get up, we will have something to deal with. But we must not let these things stop us from believing in God, ourselves and others. Our belief (or faith) in good is the fuel that will keep us going. In spite of the daily challenges, there is still so much good to believe in, to experience and to tell.’
And isn’t that the indisputable truth my people? It certainly is! A couple things we believers cannot stop doing is believing in good, in God, and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for if we do, we’ll be completely lost and most likely captured by the evil enemy Lucifer and end up in Hades with him. And believe me, that won’t be a very pleasant situation.
And the second quote says: ‘If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.’ Those are more words of truth my brethren!
Now technically speaking we all can’t lead, since leading inherently supposes followers, but all Christians ought to have some leadership tendencies in them. As Anselm says, we ought to have actions that inspire others to dream, to learn, to stand strong and faithful, to rise up to the level God has planned for them. That’s what our faith is all about!
And to back up our contentions, let’s turn to our rather appropriate Bit. ‘But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.’
That’s what Jesus said to Jairus, a ruler in the synagogue, whose daughter He was on the way to heal, but then Jairus’ servants brought news of her death and the father slumped in grief. Yes friends, two simple but powerful and overwhelming statements: ‘be not afraid, only believe.’ That’s how Mark records it. (Mark 6:36)
And they are not very easy to do when negative circumstances come against us, like in Jairus’ position, but we need to just keep on believing my people, for its ‘a mark of our Christian maturity when we can do it successfully. Remember the words ‘give up,’ do not exist in our vocabulary.
And note too, that while Jesus was on His way to Jairus’ house, a woman with an issue of blood for twelve years, made her way through the enormous crowd believing that if she could just touch His garments she would be healed. And she was too. So much so that Jesus looked around and declared: ‘Who touched me?’
The disciples were amazed that within the throng of people Jesus would ask such a question. ‘And Jesus said, somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue (power) is gone out of me.’ (Luke 8:46)
Finally the woman came to Jesus and acknowledged that she was the one who had purposely touched Him and was immediately healed. ‘And he said unto her, Daughter be of good comfort (cheer): thy faith hath made the whole (well) go in peace.’ (Luke 8:48)
And the scholars offer this explanation. ‘8:48. The woman likely had superstitious notions about how she had been healed, but Jesus clarifies what took place.’ It was all because of her strong belief, her unshakeable faith! So friends, a lot of what happens to us also depends on our faith and the strength of our belief in Jesus Christ.
Now let’s look at another scenario where Jesus again invokes the power of belief. This time a father brought his epileptic son to the disciples, but they were unable to heal him.
‘Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless (unbelieving) and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer (bear with) you? bring him hither. And Jesus rebuked the devil (demon); and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
Then came the disciples to Jesus apart (privately), and said, Why could we not cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove (move); and nothing shall be impossible to you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.’ (Matt:17:17-21)
So friends, although Jesus rebuked His disciples for their lack of belief, of not strong enough faith, He eventually acknowledges that prayer and fasting are important elements in faith works.
And we’ll end with a quick explanation from the scholars. ‘17:15-23. As a grain of mustard seed: This seemingly impossible obstacle or difficulty stands in the way. Since Christ alone is the glorified Saviour, the disciples’ ability to work depends totally upon His empowerment.’
That means we also need His empowerment my believing brethren; the only difference is that we now have His Holy Spirit dwelling with us and back then they had Jesus in person. Ah mih people, yuh see the power that is possible when we believe. We shouldn’t have to be told to believe, but some of us still need it. So please believe! (smile) Much LOVE!
…only believe…only believe…all things are possible…if you’ll only believe…
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