14 Feb 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new flock of believers, anxiety, as long as there's life there's always hope in God, as the hart panteth after the water brooks, Bible, Chistianaity, Christians, confusion, deep longing for God, divine aid, every morning is a fresh beginning, faith, for the help of his countenance, for the hope I have today, Friday chant, give me new direction, goals vanish, God's greatest attribute, guide my steps, holy spirit, hope, hope thou in God, I know you never fail, I shall yet praise him, I take your hand in this place, In you I always have hope, Jesus Christ, longing, LOVE, mercy, my soul thirsteth for god, my tears have been my meat, obedience, omnipotent help, our sinful world, perplexity, prayer on Hope, regret, return backsliders to your fold, salvation, shrouded in darkness, simmering unrest, sing a song of praise, so panteth my soul for thee, sure confidence in God, tempted to fear all is lost, Thank You God, the error of their ways, the living God, the sons of Korah, the throne of grace, the trail ahead, this day of love, trust, trusting faith, truth, unexpected storms, ungodly times, Valentine's day, wake up and smell the coffee, when plans evaporate, where is thy God, Why art thou cast down o my soul, why art thou disquieted within me, wisdom, with hope anything is possible, without hope there's no real life, witness for Christ, You know the way, you're my light, your great faithfulness
Psalm 42:5. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance (presence).
And the shouts went up in loud unison this Valentine’s Day morning: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and the weekend is here!’ That said, a Happy Valentine’s Day to all you my Scrip-Bit friends and families! Let’s hope that this day of LOVE will indeed be one that brings God’s greatest attribute sincerely to our hearts, and stay there after the day is done. Because we talk a lot about LOVE, but many of us don’t know what it really means, or don’t show it enough in our relationships with others.
Anyway, it’s been a bright, sunshiny, though somewhat windy day in my area, but at least the streets are clean and the snow has been mostly removed. I heard the snow crew working diligently all night, until around four this morning to get it done. However, after the 25-30 cm. of snow we recently received, it’s forecasted to have another big downpour this weekend. Let’s hope that there’s enough money in the Snow Removal Budget to clean that up also, and we don’t end up like we’ve done in some past years, with not enough money to facilitate a quick and thorough clean up. (smile)
But you know the most important word in that sentence is the li’l word HOPE! It’s small but ever so powerful, so that without it, one is without true life, but with it, all things are possible. Especially if we have Christ Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. And we’ll dedicate this Valentine’s Day Friday to not only LOVE, but also to HOPE, because, if we have those two things in abundance, we are truly blessed. And we’ll begin with this most appropriate prayer on HOPE, from the recently published Prayer Series of Cards by the In Touch Ministries.
So please pray with me: ‘Thank You, God, for the Hope I have today. The trail ahead is shrouded in darkness, but You’re my light. Though I’m tempted to fear all is lost, I know You never fail. Guide my steps, because You know the way. When plans evaporate and goals vanish, give me new direction. Every morning is a fresh beginning in Your great faithfulness. So I take Your hand in this place and sing a song of praise. In You I always have hope.’ And all God’s people said a loud and sincerely grateful ‘Amen!’
Yes friends, In Christ our Saviour there’s ALWAYS HOPE! Let’s never forget that. And there are no better words from the scriptures to describe our great hope in God than these awesome words from Psalm 42, penned by the Sons of Korah. Please read with me: ‘As the hart panteth after (deer longs for) the water brooks, so panteth (longs) my soul for thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat (food) day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday (a pilgrim feast). Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance (presence).’ (Ps. 42:1-5) And that’s the best advice we can ever take or give anyone else; continue hoping in God and His amazing presence!
Now we don’t have time for all of the psalm, but these words of explanation from the scholars bring it’s truth home to us. In the first place, they claim that Psalms 42 and 43 could be read as one, and in fact are joined together in some Hebrew texts. So here, they are talking about both psalms together.
‘Using the refrain Hope thou in God as a marker, the poem yields three stanzas. First, the psalmist expresses his deep longing for God (42:1-5); second, his sad lament and dejection before God (42: 6-11); finally, his sure confidence in God (43:1-5). The three stanzas reveal the changing moods of the psalmist: from longing and regret to perplexity, then to trust and assurance. If only every downcast soul could end up in that third stanza!’
Yes friends, if only. However, we can, because we have the true and real hope in God, for when our souls are cast down and disquieted, we can go confidently, but ever so humbly, to the throne of grace, seeking divine aid to help with our earthly problems. So let’s do that right now nuh, go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant for aid in these dire times.
Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
But please remember, divine aid all depends on our level of obedience, trust and the quality of witness we give for Christ. Much LOVE!
…as long as there’s life…there’s ALWAYS HOPE in Almighty God…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
31 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: as sheep going astray, bare our sins in his own body, be made the righteousness of God in Him, become better witnesses for Christ, being dead to sins, Bible, binds up their wounds, bitter waters, bless the LOrd o my soul, brought upon the Egyptians, by the stripes of Jesus, Christ also suffered for us, christianity, Christians, close communion with God, committed himself, crowns thee with loving-kindness, crying out for your help, diligently hearken to voice of the Lord, disobedience, divine favour, do that which is right in his sight, faith, forget not all his benefits, forgives all thine iniquities, Friday chant, give ear to his commandments, God's sinless Son, he heals the broken in heart, he threatened not, heals all thy diseases, holy spirit, in its death throes, intimacy with god, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, keep all his statutes, leaving us an example, live unto righteousness, LOVE, made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, Marah, mend our evil ways, neither was guile found in his mouth, now returned unto, obedient to God's will, on the tree, our sinful world, placed on Jesus' shoulders, problems escalating, put none of these diseases on thee, redeems thy life from destruction, relaxation, rest, return backsliders to your fold, reviled not again, salvation, satisfies thy mouth with good things, set free from Satan's evil bondage, tender mercies, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the burden of the world's sin, the error of their ways, the example we faithful believers set, the Great healer, the Lord forgives all of our sins, the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls, the throne of grace, the workweek, thy youth is renewed like the eagle's, to follow in his steps, to him that judges righteously, truth, unexpected storms, wake up and smell the coffee, when he suffered, when he was reviled, who did no sin, wisdom, wise guidance, without god we are nothing, without me ye can do nothing, worldly frivolity
Psalm 103:2. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
And then it was that much lauded day called Friday! Yes, the workweek is in its death throes and we’re ever so happy that we can even declare: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here at last!’ But let’s not forget that the weekend is not to be simply wasted away in partying and other worldly frivolity, but must also include rest, relaxation and a fair amount of intimacy with God. On the weekend, we need to make up the time we could not spend with God during our busy work week.
And remember it’s all for our benefit, not His. He has everything we want, and we can only get it by going to Him in reverential awe and humble communion. That brings to mind these most beneficial words of Bruh David from Psalm 103: ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with LOVINGKINDNESS and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’ (Ps. 103: 1-5)
Wow mih bredrin! Yuh see how many benefits we get from being in close association with Almighty God? We ought never to forget them, or Him, for without Him, we are absolutely nothing. Jesus said it in no uncertain terms: ‘for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5b) And if you don’t believe Him, then try living this devilish earthly life without Him, and see how far you get. So, let’s check out some of these benefits in a li’l more detail nuh. And the greatest of them all is that he forgiveth all our iniquities. That means the Lord forgives all of our sins. And how does He do that?
Through the sacrifice of His sinless Son’s life on the cross of Calgary. He placed all the burden of the world’s sin on Jesus’ shoulders, so that we could be set free from Satan’s evil bondage and see the bright light of Christ’s resurrected glory. As Bruh Paul writes to the church at Corinth: ‘For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.’ (2 Cor. 5:21) Now, how much more do we want eh? Oh, in our lazy, entitled fashion, we expect it all to happen automatically, but unfortunately it doesn’t. We have to do our part, work at it, by receiving Christ as Lord and Saviour and living the life He desires of us.
Then there is the phrase ‘who healeth all thy diseases.’ What another powerful blessing my people! The Lord not only forgives us of our sins, but He also heals our sicknesses. Who else can do that for us eh? Nobody! Because Jehovah Rapha is the Great Healer. And again, as Isaiah says, it’s by the stripes of Jesus, that we are healed. (Is. 53:5) And if you don’t believe Isaiah because He’s an Old Testament prophet, or the psalmist who declares: ‘He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds (sorrows).’ (Ps. 147:3) then listen to Peter, who actually walked with Christ on the earth.
He writes in his second epistle: ‘For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow in his steps; Who did no sin, neither was guile (deceit) found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again (in return); when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes (wounds) ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop (Overseer) of your souls.’ (1 Pet. 2:21-25) Wise and true words indeed!
But before all of that happened, the Israelites were warned about disobedience, for when they came out of Egypt into the wilderness and could find no water, they began complaining against Moses, and at a place called Marah, Bitter Waters, the Lord allowed Moses to cast a tree into the water and it became sweet and they drank their fill. Then Moses delivered this message. ‘If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.’ (Ex. 15:26)
And we all know the ten plagues that the Lord wrought on the Egyptians, ending with the death of the firstborn and the instituting of the Passover. (Ex. Chapters 7-12) Anyway, time has run out on us, so we’ll continue studying the awesome benefits we derive from close communion with God tomorrow. Right now, let’s go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid in these turbulent and fearful times.
Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now, let’s remember that we’re not doing such a great job for Christ on the earth right now, that’s why it’s such a mess, but if we would only mend our evil ways and become better witnesses, the Lord will surely look down on us with divine favour. Much LOVE!
…God’s awesome benefits are available…to all who sincerely LOVE the Lord…and are obedient to His will…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
24 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a gnawing pain in my stomach, a means of restoring faith in you, addicted to, annoying pain, anointing him with oil, anxiety, bless the LOrd o my soul, bruised for our iniquities, by his stripes we a re healed, by the example that we set, call for the elders of the church, can't fix problems on our own, chills, Christian witness, confess your faults one to another, confusion, crowneth thee with loving-kindness, crying out for your help, discontent, dissatisfaction, divine aid, divine help, effective supplication, embrace your love and compassion, enough to drive me crazy, faith, faithful believers, forget not all his benefits, forgives your sins, Friday chant, get a healing touch from Jesus, he was wounded for our transgressions, heal me O lord, heals your diseases, heavenly Father, holy spirit, I shall be healed, I shall be saved, if he has committed sins, if he have committed sins they shall be forgiven, in the name of the Lord of hosts, introduce a new flock of believers, is any among you afflicted, is any merry, is any sick among you, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law, Jesus touched her hand, keep on pressing on, let him pray, let him sing psalms, let them pray over him, LOVE, mercy, my prayer for today, narcotic based pain medication, omnipotent help, problems are escalating, proper concentration, redeemeth thy life from destruction, regurgitation, return backsliders to your fold, satisfieth thy mouth with good things, save me, scriptural truths on healing, she arose and ministered unto them, sick of a fever, simmering unrest, sinful world, stand strong and steadfast, stomach pains, strong and trusting faith in Jesus, tender mercies, that ye may be healed, the chastisement of our peace, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man, the error of their ways, the fever left her, the God who heals, the Great Physician, the Lord shall raise him up, the prayer of faith, the prayer of faith shall save the sick, the throne of grace, them's the breaks, thou art my praise, thy youth is renewed like the eagle's, times of desperate need, truth, unexpected storms, wake up and smell the coffee, who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, wisdom, wise guidance
Jeremiah 17:14. Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
And the shouts have gone up: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, with the weekend right around the corner!’ And the ole fella is back after a couple of days of illness. Please accept my apology for those two missed days. It seems that being out Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning in some very cold conditions didn’t agree with me, and when I came back from my church group on Wednesday morning I was tired, having had little sleep during the night, so obviously I had to have a nap. (smile)
But during that supposed nap time, the chills began trembling my body, although I was wrapped up under heavy covers. Then my stomach joined in. At first, I thought I was hungry and got up to get something to eat. But lo and behold, whatever I ate came right back up. Now, regurgitation is something I don’t normally do, (smile) even the Duchess said she’s never seen me do it, but in less than 24 hours she saw or heard me do it six times.
The problem apparently was a stomach pain that I’d had some years before, but after a whole lot of tests, they’d found nothing wrong, so they simply gave me some tablets to take whenever it occurred. And the few times the pain occurred; the tablets did take care of it. But not this past Wednesday. Brother! The whole day was a mixture of chills and stomach pains and regurgitation.
And when the chills settled down in the afternoon, I thought about writing the Bit, but the stomach pain nixed that idea right in the bud, for it just got worse, and nothing I took could ease it. And it’s not to say that it was a bright and blazing pain, but a steady gnawing in the upper left side of my stomach, like some rodent was there just eating away at it, enough to drive me crazy, and not allow proper concentration.
Well, on Thursday morning after the sixth regurgitation, tired, worn out and empty, I went to the Emergency Department of the nearby hospital. I got there at ten o’clock, but didn’t leave until five in the evening, having done all sorts of tests and waiting for reports to come back. And even then, there was no firm diagnosis, so pain tablets and further tests were prescribed. And that’s where we sit right now. Please pray that they come up with something firm and simple, very soon, because I don’t want to get addicted to this narcotic based pain medication.
And I guess since we’ve been talking about illness and healing, we can just continue by renewing our hearts and minds on some scriptural truths on the subject. And there’s no better verse to begin with than this one from Isaiah. ‘But he (Jesus) was wounded (pierced through) for our transgressions, he was bruised (crushed) for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with (by) his stripes (cruel blows that cut into him) we are healed.’ (Is. 55:5)
Then there are these marvellous words of encouragement from Bruh David in Psalm 103. ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases. Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with LOVING-KINDNESS and tender mercies. Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’ (Ps. 103:2-5)
And there’s nothing better than Jesus’ personal touch, as Matthew recounts. ‘And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.’ (Matt. 8:14-15) Oh, how I wish could get such a touch from Jesus right now, so that this annoying pain could go away. I would certainly minister to Him with everything I have. (smile)
Excuse me, but I just had to go upstairs and get another pill to ease the pain because the first one had apparently worn off. Ah Lord eh! But them’s the breaks, we simply have to keep on pressing on regardless. Then there’s this prayer from Jeremiah. ‘Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.’ (Jer. 17:14) Now, that’s my prayer for today my fellow believers. (smile)
And scriptures on healing would not be complete without this one from James. ‘Is any among you afflicted (suffering)? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults (trespasses) one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual (effective) fervent prayer (supplication) of a righteous man availeth much.’ (James 5:13-16)
And I would certainly appreciate some effective supplication from you righteous bredrin in our Scrip-Bit family. (smile) Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant for divine aid to help in these times of desperate need. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways.
And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ And before we do like the man who sees his face in the mirror and immediately forgets what he looks like, remember that we need to increase our Christian witness to get divine help Much LOVE!
…who is the Great Physician…Jehovah Rapha…the God who heals…our Jesus…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
03 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new flock of believers, accepting one's limitations, are riches honour and life, as a means of restoring faith in you, as seriously as my own, as your Father in heaven is perfect, be better witnesses for Christ, be the children of your Father in heaven, be ye therefore perfect, being modest in our self-assessment, Bible, bless them that curse you, blessed are the poor in spirit, bright, bushy tailed, by humility and the fear of the Lord, by the example your faithful believers set, christianity, consider their heart, consults you often, disastrous times, discontent, dismisses other opinions, disregard anyone, dissatisfaction, divine aid, do good to them that hate you, don't think too little of ourselves, don't think too much of ourselves, embrace your love and compassion, even the publicans the same, faith, Friday chant, God gives grace to the humble, God resists the proud, God sends rain on the just and the unjust, greet your brethren only, have no use for God, he makes his sun to rise, he that humbles himself shall be exalted, holy spirit, humble yourselves in the sight of God, humbled, humility - one of the hardest virtues to attain, I pray for humility, I trust you to do it, if you love those who love you, in Jesus' name, In Touch Devotional, Jesus Christ, look down on others, LOVE, love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy, love your enemy, maintaining a sense of perspective, make or break, mercy, no matter one's background, omnipotent help, on the evil and on the good, our sinful world, persecute you, positive strides, pray for those who spitefully use you, pride, pride is the enemy of humility, problems escalating, put up barriers, rest, return backsliders to your fold, salvation, see people as, stand strong and steadfast, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the error of their ways, theirs is the kingdom of heaven, unexpected storms, wake up and smell the coffee
Matthew 23:12. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased (humbled); and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted (lifted up).
Here comes the weekend! And as we offer up, ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ we’ll either have a chance to get in some much-needed rest, or one more go round of the new year celebrations. (smile) But whatever we do for the weekend, let’s ensure that come Monday, we’re bright and bushy-tailed, ready to do a good week’s work for Jesus, because this year is either going to make or break a lot of things and people, and only as we believers make some positive strides will things get better.
Now, today I want to share the prayer from the In Touch Devotional for December. And is it ever a most appropriate prayer for these proud, haughty and arrogant times. So please pray with me: ‘God, I pray for humility – the kind that doesn’t dismiss other opinions, that truly listens, no matter a person’s background, that consults You often and with ease. Sometimes I put up barriers and look down on others. But Lord, don’t let my pride lead me to disregard anyone – including You. Help me see people as Your beloved creations and consider their heart as seriously as my own. Only You can create this humility, Lord. I trust you to do it. In Jesus’ name, amen.’
Now that’s something we are all guilty of, to one extent or the other! For we all have some level of pride that causes us to look down on others and not value their opinions, ofttimes for rather petty, shortsighted and ungodly reasons. Like they don’t look, or act, or believe like us. They are richer or poorer than us…and the list goes on. But that’s so much foolishness it’s not funny, because we have all been made in the image of God, and though we might not look, think, act, or believe the same, we all still have value and worth and deserve to be heard, and treated with respect.
That’s how Jesus behaved and taught us to behave. Remember these momentous words of His. ‘Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour, and hate thy enemy. But I say unto you, LOVE your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully (spitefully, maliciously) use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust.
For if ye LOVE them which LOVE you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans (tax collectors) the same? And if ye salute (greet) your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans (tax collectors) so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’ (Matt. 5:43-48)
Oh my people, Jesus is certainly asking a lot of us, but it’s nothing that He Himself didn’t do. And obviously we won’t be able to do it as well as He did, but if we believe and practice the main ingredient that’s necessary to accomplish that task, we will definitely come up higher. And what’s that main ingredient? Well, it’s simply what we’ve been talking about before; that’s humility! And believe me, humility is one of the hardest virtues to attain, because we all have pride, which is the very enemy of humility.
And pride is one of the seven things that Cousin Sol says the Lord considers an abomination. (Prov. 6:16-19) Why? Because when we’re filled with too much pride, we don’t tend to have any use for God. We believe we can do it all on our own, which is the furthest thing from the truth. But before we get to discussing humility, I guess we ought to get a decent definition of it. And I like this one: ‘Humility is the quality of being modest or respectful in one’s self-assessment and behavior. It involves recognizing and accepting one’s limitations, valuing others’ contributions, and maintaining a sense of perspective.’
Yes, we don’t need to abase ourselves, thinking that we’re no good to be humble, because we all have something to contribute. But neither ought we to think too much of ourselves. So, let’s look at a few of the many scriptures on the subject of humility. Beginning with this one from Cousin Sol in Proverbs. ‘When pride cometh, then cometh shame (disgrace): but with the lowly (humble, humility) is (comes) wisdom.’ (Prov. 11:2) Then there’s this other one from Cousin Sol in Proverbs. ‘By humility and the fear (reverence) of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.’ (Prov. 22:4) And there’s no disputing that my faithful brethren!
Then James, the brother of Jesus, gives us a couple of good ones in his epistle, namely: ‘But he (God) giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.’ (James 4:6) Then there’s scripture we all know but don’t practice enough. ‘Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:10) And let’s remember Christ’s teaching on the subject. ‘But he that is the greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased (humbled); and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted (lifted up).’ (Matt. 23:11-12)
Now that ought to make it very clear that the Lord values humility above most things. Please notice too, that His Son, Jesus Christ first came to earth in a very humble state, not because He had to, but because that was the necessary attribute for the time. However, please note that the next time He comes, then, it will be with all the pomp and splendour of a victorious warrior and King! So, with all of that under our belts, and in our hearts and minds, (smile) let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid to help in these disastrous times.
Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.
And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now, let’s get out into the world and be better witnesses for Christ, if we expect to receive divine aid! Much LOVE!
…blessed are the poor in spirit…the humble…for theirs is the kingdom of heaven… (Matt. 5:4)
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
27 Dec 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sad blot on our efforts, a vision of the universe, all should come to repentance, anxisety, avenues of encouragement, backsliders, be responsible, Bible, can never repay our debt to Jesus, carnal lusts, christianity, Christmas all year round, come as a thief in the night, come together in peace and harmony, confusion, damnation, die trying, discontent, dissatisfaction, divine aid, dreams, drive our motivations, enlightened times, error of their ways, faith, food, Friday chant, fulfilling the mandate, God-given dreams, good will to all mankind, have our houses in order, hellfire, holy spirit, it's been a good time, it's not always necessary to preach with words, Jesus Christ, joy, joyful greetings, light, living the life we talk, lost the world to the evil one, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, make a worthwhile effort, making disciples, mercy, negative emotions, not willing that any should perish, of all nations, omnipotent help, our sinful world, peace, problems are escalating, rejuvenate, salt, salvation, sharing gifts, simmering unrest, sincere witness, smiles, stand strong and steadfast, stay safe, sufferation, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the courage of Christ, the day of the Lord, the generation that gave up, the goodness of God, the Great Commission, the Lord is longsuffering to us-ward, the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, the LOVE of Jesus, the now dormant, the rapture of the church, the throne of grace, to do Christ's bidding, to turn our evil world around, trusting faith, truth, unexpected storms, ungodliness, ungodly times, visions, wake up and smell the coffee, wiles'lies, wisdom, wise guidance, with the state of our own lives, witnessed through our lives
2 Peter 3:9b. The Lord is …longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
And then it was Friday, and in this most joyful season of Christmas, the shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ rise up to heaven with more than the usual thankfulness. Some of us had to be back at work today, following the public holidays of Christmas and Boxing days, while some are blessed to be off for the entire time from Wednesday to Monday. But whatever your situation, let’s hope that it’s been a good time, and continues to be such, with peace, joy, LOVE and good will to all mankind, as the Lord desires.
Christmas is the one time of the year that we drop some of our negative emotions and sort of come together in peace and harmony. That leads me to wish that we could have Christmas all year round, celebrate Christ’s birth throughout the entire year. (smile) I can see it in my mind’s eye! What a time of joy and peace that would be! People coming together, all smiles and joyful greetings, sharing gifts and food and the LOVE of Jesus! Wow! It would certainly help to rejuvenate the now dormant LOVE Revolution!
Okay, so I’m just dreaming, but dreams and visions are what drive our motivations and help us get to where we want to go. The Lord began with a dream, a vison of the universe He desired to create, and then He acted on it, and here we are. Likewise, when we have God-given dreams and visions, we also need to act on them. And today, I hope that ALL believers in Christ Jesus would have the dream, the vision of ourselves getting up, losing our fears and embracing the courage of Christ, and thus becoming much better witnesses for our Lord and Saviour.
Remember what Peter tells us: ‘The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’ (2 Pet. 3:9) Now that means the Lord doesn’t want any of His human creation to end up in hellfire and damnation with Beelzebub, and He’s been patiently waiting for us, Christ’s disciples to get out there and bring as many as possible, preferably ALL of mankind to repentance, and thus salvation.
But He won’t wait forever. And as Peter therefore reminds us: ‘But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.’ (2 Pet. 3:10) Yes friends, if we miss the friendly Rapture of the church, we had better have our houses in order by the time Jesus comes again with judgement, for after that there will be no chance whatsoever to turn things around.
That’s why we must get to our tasks of spreading the good news of Christ’s gospel right now, with as much fervour and zeal as we can muster. Oh my fellow believers, don’t you see the numerous number of mankind that are sadly falling for Satan’s wiles and lies, and are thus headed for hellfire and damnation with him. It’s a sad blot on our efforts, or lack thereof, that in these supposed enlightened times, so many people are openly and joyfully embracing the carnal lusts and ungodliness of the evil one.
We obviously are not fulfilling the mandate of the Great Commission, of going out to all parts of the world and teaching and making disciples for Christ of those nations. And the unfortunate thing is that there has never been a better or easier time, with all sorts of new avenues, books, radio, television, internet, etc., etc. to get the word out to the world. And yet, many still fall to the deceitful and evil schemes of the world, possibly having never heard of Jesus’ goodness and mercy, or having not seen enough LOVE and goodness as witnessed through our lives.
Yes my brethren, talk is cheap, but the true taste of discipleship is the way in which we live our lives! And so many of us are living lives that don’t live up to our talk, so how can we expect others to come to Jesus when we’re as resentful, unloving, unforgiving, and ungodly, just like them? It’s like the saying goes, most of the time we don’t have to preach with words, but with the state of our own lives. That’s what draws people to Christ; to see us living the life we talk.
And that’s where we’ve got to get better in these difficult and troubled times, for people are looking for serious avenues of encouragement and we have the best; that of belonging to, and living for Jesus! So let’s show it to the world nuh, let’s be the true salt and light that Jesus expects us to be. If not for our sakes, then for those of our children’s children, for I’m sure we don’t want any of those to fall for the foibles and deceits of Satan. And to help us do that, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant seeking divine aid to turn our evil world around.
Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.
And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And friends, does our world ever need to wake up and see and smell the goodness of our great God. But they can only do it through our sincere witness. We certainly don’t want to be known as the generation that lost the world to the evil one. So let’s become the people that Jesus expects us to be nuh…for our sake, as well as His. He went through too much ‘sufferation’ on our behalf, for us not to make a worthwhile effort to do His bidding. Much LOVE!
…we can never repay our debt to Jesus…but we can surely die trying…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
29 Nov 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a crying shame, a new flock of believers, all evildoers floudrish, approach the throne of grace, as stubble before the wind, be forever destroyed, Black Friday, Christian witness, come short of the glory of God, comfort, compassion, compromise, cut off in the midst, divine aid, drink of the wrath of the Almighty, encompassed by sin, faith, fear, fold of righteousness, For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, Friday chant, give up eternity for hellfire, God distributes sorrows in his anger, God stores up a man's iniquity, hellfire and damnation, holy spirit, hunger and thirst for sin, hurtful consequences, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, Jesus Christ, like chaff, LOVE, mercy, of power love and a sound mind, omnipotent help, peace, salvation, shopping day after Thanksgiving, short lived, sincerity, sinners, stand strong and steadfast for Christ, strife, the animal mentality, the congregation of the righteous, the error of their ways, the eventual destruction of the ungodly, the gift of God is eternal life, the joys of sin, the light of the world, the Lord knows the way of the righteous, the Lord's promise, the salt of the earth, the simmering unrest, the ungodly are not so, the ungodly shall not stand in the judgement, the wages of sin is death, the way of the ungodly shall perish, the wicked spring up like grass, the wind drives away, trusting faith, truth, unexpected storms, ungodliness, violence, wake up and smell the coffee, we have all sinned, who meditates on God's word prospers, wild animals, wisdom, with God all things are possible, with men this is impossible
Psalm 1:6. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
And then it was Black Friday; the crazy shopping day after Thanksgiving, where all the reputed sales draw crowds of shoppers to the stores to behave like wild animals, in a mad stampede, to buy the few things that are actually marked down. The commerce people have this thing down to a science, knowing that once they get you into the store you will not leave without buying something else at regular or even marked up prices. And the sad part is that every year there are tales of violence and woe with the mad rushing and scrambling to be the first to get into the stores and grab whatever product(s) they have allegedly marked down.
But I guess the animal mentality is still strong in our nature, and we just seem to LOVE a fight. You only have to look at the amount of fighting and strife that’s currently taking place all over our world. There are probably more places in strife than are in peace. What a crying shame! And that most appropriately brings us back to Psalm 1 that we began studying a couple of days ago. We saw how the man who meditated on God’s Word and walked in His ways prospered.
But as the Psalm goes on to explain. ‘The ungodly are not so; but are like the chaff (husks, shells) which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the jurdgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.’ (Ps. 1:4-6) Oh my people, this has been the Lord’s promise from the very beginning of time! From Genesis to Revelation, His Word is filled with the eventual destruction of the ungodly, and the salvation of the righteous. What is in that we cannot understand?
And if we want more confirmation of the destruction of the ungodly, Job says it thus: ‘How oft is the candle (lamp) of the wicked put out! And how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger. They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away. God layeth up his iniquity for his children (stores up a man’s iniquity): and he rewardeth him, and he shall know it. His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty. For what pleasure hath he in his house (what does he care about his household) after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the midst?’ (Job 21:17-21)
Now that’s a very good question! And I’d like to further ask, what’s in sinful living that’s so wonderful that we are willing to give up eternity in heaven for hellfire and damnation with Satan? Yes, as the Bible says, we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, (Rom. 3:23) and we all know that the joys of sin are short-lived and can bear many hurtful consequences. As hurtful as this scripture: ‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Rom. 6:23)
So, although we have an option to get away from a life encompassed by sin, yet we still hunger and thirst for it, instead of righteousness. We just have to look at the world and see the ungodliness that’s rampaging through it, with godliness running a far distant second place. Now that’s not right my fellow believers, for Jesus expects us, as His ambassadors here on earth to live a worthy life and speak words of truth and sincerity that will bring the unbeliever to His fold of righteousness, not allow them to wallow in the mire of Satan’s sinful kingdom.
However, it’s obvious that we’re not doing such a great job, neither by the example our lives set, or the sincerity of our words, for it seems like more people are turning away from God every day, than are joining His ranks. It’s not a very good situation in which we find ourselves, my faithful brethren, but we have no one else to blame for our lack of successful witness than ourselves. For through, fear, comfort, compromise, or whatever reason, we have not been the light of the world and the salt of the earth that Jesus intends for us to be.
But it’s not too late to do something about it, for we have these magnificent and powerful scriptures in our grasp. The first one comes from the words of Bruh Paul to Timothy: ‘For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7) And the next one comes from Jesus. As the disciples were pondering His remark that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, He made them to understand: ‘With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.’ (Matt. 19: 26)
Yes my fellow saints, let’s remember that all things are possible with our great God, and that we have His Holy Spirit and power flowing through us, so it is indeed possible for us to do some serious damage to Satan’s kingdom, if we only believe and try, put our best efforts forward, in Jesus’ name. Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid to turn things around.
Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And if we expect divine aid, then we have to do what our prayer says; set better examples of Christian witness. Much LOVE!…
Though the wicked spring up like grass…and all evildoers flourish…they will be forever destroyed… (Psalm 92:7)
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
08 Nov 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a future and a hope, as the problems increas, as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, asleep at the wheel, backsliders, be able to comfort them which are in trouble, Bible, blessed be God, by the comfort, calamity, call upon me, chaotic world, christianity, comforts us in tribulation, divine aid, errors of their ways, eternal life, eternal separation from God, faithful believers, fellowship, find me, Friday chant, god, God still runs things, God still sits on His throne, hard hearted attitudes, holy spirit, I know the thoughts I think toward you, I will hearken unto you, Jesus Christ, LOVE, mercy, new flock of believers, nothing happens unless God allows it, omnipotent help, our consolation aboundeth by Christ, pray unto me, rolling hellbound, salvation, search for me with all your heart, seek me, shocking results, slavatio, so does consolation, stubborn, suffer the consequences, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the divide between God and man, the example, the Father of all mercies, the God of All Comfort, the lustful and prideful ways of the world, the straight and narrow path, the throne of grace, the wide and winding path, this too must pass, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end, truth, unexpected storms, ungodly times, ungraeful, wake up and smell the coffee, we ourselves are comforted of God, wise guidance
2 Corinthians 1:5. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation (comfort) aboundeth by Christ, (as the problems increase, so does the consolation).
So Friday is here at last, and all the shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday!’ rise to high heaven, in thanksgiving for the upcoming end of another tough work week; what with the shocking results of the U.S. Presidential occupying the minds and sensibilities of our already chaotic world. But yuh know what friends? That, like everything else in this crazy world must pass!
Granted, some unnatural and evil things might befall us before it does, but let’s remember that the Great God Jehovah still sits on His heavenly throne and still runs things, though it may seem He is asleep at the wheel. But that’s incorrect, for nothing happens in this world unless He allows it. That’s the comfort we have to take as believers in His Son Jesus Christ. And consequently, let’s never forget these most encouraging words of Bruh Paul from his second missive to the church at Corinth.
‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble (tribulation), by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation (comfort) aboundeth by Christ, (as the problems increase, so does the consolation). (2 Cor. 1:3-5)
Now that’s the wonderful God we serve my fellow believers! One who comforts us in all our trials, so that we can comfort each other with that same comfort we receive from Him! Wow! Please give our amazing and awesome God some thanks and praise for His goodness and mercy to us, underserving children of men! For we certainly don’t deserve all that He’s done on our behalf, but His LOVE towards us is so great that He just cannot help Himself!
Remember He made us for Himself; to have wonderful and LOVING fellowship with Him, and to do His will, so His connection to us is undeniably strong. The problem is that we haven’t returned the LOVE that He desires of us, that’s why there’s the divide between us, a divide He’s desirous of fixing and doing His best to fix, but we, with our stubborn, hardhearted, ungrateful attitudes are refusing to have anything to do with the fixing, preferring the lustful and prideful ways of the world.
Then we’ll just have to suffer whatever consequences those ungodly things and actions bring us, praying that hopefully, before it’s too late, we wake up and see the wrongness of our ways. Remember how Jesus emphasized that we walk the straight and narrow and difficult path that leads to Him and eternal life, and not the wide, winding and easy path that we’re choosing which leads to hellfire and eternal damnation, to eternal separation from Almighty God. (Matt. 7:13-14) And nowhere in time has this wisdom been more important and necessary than right now, as our world seems to be rolling hell bound with increasing speed as each and every day goes by.
Oh my fellow saints, please, let’s remember what God said to Israel through the prophet Jeremiah, when He exiled them to Babylon for their disobedience and idolatrous ways. He promised to return them to their land after a period of seventy years had elapsed. ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope). (Jer. 29:11)
And that sounds like a wonderful promise, but it was not going to happen automatically, for the Lord added this addendum to it: ‘Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto (listen to) you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer. 29:12-13)
Yes friends, the Lord won’t rain down blessings on us for no good reason. No! We have to sincerely seek and search for Him with all of our hearts, souls, bodies and minds. Remember Jesus said that was the first and great commandment. (Matt. 22:37) And if we don’t follow that first commandment, how can we expect to receive anything good from God eh?
That’s just a fool’s wisdom. You can’t dilly dally, or hob knob with Satan and sin, and then expect to receive salvation and eternal life from God. That’s never going to happen! Not even in our wildest dreams! So please, let’s wake up and see the frail, fickle and sinful state of our world nuh, and make the wise and wonderful decision to forsake sin and Satan and return to Jesus Christ and His righteousness. And to help us make that magnificent change, let’s go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid in our time of great need.
Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And let’s not fool ourselves with that prayer, for divine aid will not be forthcoming unless we step up to the plate and become better examples of Christian belief! Much LOVE!
…God is good and merciful and compassionate…but He also expects us to…sincerely seek Him…and obey His will and ways…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
01 Nov 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a mighty being, anger, anger rests in the bosom of fools, anxiety, be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry, be patient toward all men, be ptaient unto the coming of the Lord, be responsible, being steadfast, Bible, character trait, childlike attitude, christianity, Christians, comfort the feebleminded, compassion, confusion, crazy driving, displays great folly, disrepct, exalteth folly, faith, faithfulness, follow that which is good, forbearance, Friday chant, gentleness, god, great understanding, Halloween, has long patience, hastiness, hasty of spirit, he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, he that is slow to wrath, he that ruleth his spirit than he that takes a city, holy spirit, impatience, impatient soicety, impetuousness, increase of speed limit, Jesus Christ, joy, kindness, longsuffering, LOVE, meekness, nurture the seeds, patience, peace, render not evil for evil, restoring faith in you, return backsliders to your fold, road rage, self-control, serious problems, sinful world, speed kills, strong and steadfast, temperance, the ability to endure difficult circumstances, the error of their ways, the example we faithful believers set, the fruit of the spirit, the patient in spirit, the patient man shows good sense, the proud in spirit, the simmering unrest, the throne of grace, truth, unexpected storms, ungodly times, wake up and smell the coffee, wisdom, wise guidance
Ecclesiastes 7:9. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
So it’s Friday and all the Halloween nonsense is over now, except for the children fighting their parents to get the candy they collected last night, so that they can eat them in almost one go. But that’s the nature of children, and sadly, also the nature of many adults in our current society which emphasizes speed and the give it to me now, if not yesterday, childlike attitude. We can’t seem to wait for anything, that’s why we have things like road rage on crowed highways, and blow ups in the grocery lines when a cashier seems to be too slow for our liking. Also when our computers take too long to boot up or find some site we desire, we rage at the poor machine. (smile)
And though we know the motto; ‘SPEED KILLS,’ we continue to emphasize speed in too many areas of our lives. Take for instance the Ontario Provincial Government’s recent proposal to increase the speed limit on most of the big highways from one hundred to one hundred and ten kilometers per hour. In the first place the highways are usually so filed with traffic that you can seldom get up to the speed limit for any reasonable length of time. And secondly, too many drivers are already doing one twenty to one forty, with the hundred limit, so what do you think they’ll do with the one ten limit eh? Obviously up their speed!
But thank the Lord, I’m not on the highway everyday like some unfortunate people nuh. It’s bad enough when I do have to get on it. And with the crazy driving that’s taking place out there, it’s a wonder that we don’t have more accidents than the large number we already have. So what’s the problem then, you ask? I guess it’s basically a problem of patience, versus impatience. Our society has become a rather impatient one, but if we continue along that path, we will just destroy ourselves sooner rather than later. Our resolve then should be to learn or acquire patience, which as we all know is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Bruh Paul tells us in his letter to the Galatians: ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience), gentleness (kindness), goodness, faithfulness, Meekness, temperance (self-control): against such there is no law.’ (Gal. 5:22-23) Yes friends, if those fruits flourish in us, then we’d be as holy and godly as we can ever be. (smile) But unfortunately they don’t just flourish when the Holy Spirit plants their seeds in our spirits, when we become believers. No. Like all the other seeds that sprout to healthy plants, we then have to nurture them; that’s water and feed and remove the weeds from around them, so that they can grow and flourish and show the world that Christ richly dwells in us.
And sadly, possibly the most difficult fruit of the Spirit to acquire is the one Bruh Paul terms longsuffering, or patience, or perseverance, for that cannot be acquired without undergoing problems which then causes it to grow. And what’s patience? This definition from Wikipedia shows how difficult it is to acquire. ‘Patience (or forbearance) is the ability to endure difficult circumstances. Patience may involve perseverance in the face of delay; tolerance of provocation without responding with disrespect or anger, forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties; or being able to wait for a long time without getting irritated or bored. Patience is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast. Antonyms or opposites include impatience, hastiness, and impetuousness.’
And, as we said earlier, for the Christian, patience is a most important trait for us to develop as we walk with God, for He doesn’t do anything according to our timetable, but according to His. And the Bible, the Lord’s Word, talks very often about the need for patience. So let’s look at a few of those scriptures on patience nuh. And nowhere is it more popular than in Proverbs, or wise words of Cousin Sol.
Listen up: ‘He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit (impulsive) exalteth folly.’ (Prov. 14:29) Or, as another translation puts it: “The patient man shows much good sense, but the quick-tempered man displays folly at its height” Then in the next chapter he writes: ‘A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife (contention).’ (Prov. 15:18) Or, “An ill-tempered man stirs up strife, but a patient man allays discord.”
And in chapter 16, Cousin Sol states: ‘He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.’ (Prov. 16:32) Or, “A patient man is better than a warrior, and he who rules his temper, than he who takes a city.” And then in Ecclesiastes, as the Preacher, Cousin Sol advises: ‘Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.’ (Eccl. 7:8-9) Or, “Better is the patient spirit than the lofty spirit. Do not in spirit become quickly discontented, for discontent lodges in the bosom of a fool.”
It could not be said any better my people. However, Bruh Paul adds his advice on patience thus in his first letter to the Thessalonians. ‘Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly (insubordinate), comfort the feebleminded (faint-hearted), support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.’ (1Thess. 5:14-15)
And we’ll close with this exhortation from James. ‘Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman (farmer) waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish (establish) your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh (near).’ (James 5:7-8) Yes my fellow saints, patience is a most important trait in all aspects of our lives, but it is difficult to obtain, and without the Lord’s help, possibly impossible. So let’s go to the throne of grace right now nuh, through our Friday Chant asking for divine help to handle all the negative stuff that’s coming against us.
Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And I’ll just remind us that we won’t receive any divine help until we become better examples of Christian living! So let’s get on with it nuh! Much LOVE!
…the person who exhibits patience in his or her life…especially in this impatient society…is indeed a mighty being…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
28 Oct 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abounding in the work of the Lord, ambassadors, another person's bad, answer our prayers, Bible, bite us in the butt, bursting with enthusiasm, christianity, climate change, deliverance is of the Lord, divine aid, do worthwhile things for Jesus, down payment on your salvation, earthly representatives, eternally sealed by the Holy Spirit, faith, forevermore, from this time forth, from whence comes my help, get out into the evil world, god, good spirits, grieve not the holy Spirit of God, holy spirit, humble ourselves, humble servants, I will lift up mine eyes to the hills, in all these things, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, LOVE, mass confusion, mercy, my help cometh from the Lord, negative situations, neither slumber nor sleep, nothing shall separate us from the love of God, one person's good, pray, safety is of the Lord, salvation, sealed unto the day of redemption, sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, seek your face, sincere repentance, steadfast, strong faith in Christ, thanks be to God who gives us the victory, the earnest of our inheritance, the God who heals, the gospel of your salvaion, the Lord is thy keeper, the Lord is thy shade, the Lord shall preserve thee from all evil, the Lord shall preserve thy going out and coming in, The sun shall not smite thee by day, through him that loved us, truth, unexpected storms, unmoveable, unseasonal warm weather, upon thy right hand, we are more than conquerors, which made heaven and earth, wisdom, wise guidance, wreaking havoc, your labour is not in vain
Psalm 121:2. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
Well a good Monday to all you my wonderful Scrip-Bits friends and family! We do hope that this new work week finds you in good spirits, just bursting with enthusiasm and desire to get out into the evil world and do worthwhile things for Jesus, as He expects of us, His ambassadors and earthly representatives.
Now would you believe that this week – the end of October, beginning of November – we’re supposed to see more unseasonal warm weather, with temps getting up into the high teens. Oh, we’re never going to refuse it, but it’s strange to have so much warm weather at this time of year in the northern climes. And although climate change is wreaking havoc elsewhere around the world, I guess we have to say thanks to it for this unseasonal warm weather. But as they say; someone’s good is someone else’s bad.
Let’s hope and pray that it doesn’t turn around and bite us in the butt with a terrible winter. (smile) But that’s why we worship and adore Almighty God through His Son Jesus Christ; He is able to protect us from all harm on this earthly journey. Psalm 116 titled ‘God Neither Slumbers Not Sleeps’ says it perfectly. ‘I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills (mountains), from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved (to slip): he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper (protector): the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve (keep) thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.’ (Ps. 116:1-8)
Oh friends, our God is truly our Protector; the One to whom we ought to cry out to in times of need. He’s promised it, and He always keeps His promises. And the prophet Jeremiah confirms that man’s help does not come from the hills or mountains, as he says to his people Israel: ‘Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.’ (Jer. 3:23) And Cousin Sol totally agrees, when he writes in proverbs: ‘The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety (deliverance) is of the Lord.’ (Prov. 21:31)
Meanwhile, Bruh Paul says it thus to the Corinthians in his first missive: ‘But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain (futile) in the Lord.’ (1 Cor. 15:57-58)
Yes my fellow believers, Christ has given us the victory though His finished work here on earth, and thus we can stand strong and steadfast in it and do what we need to do maintain that victory, for which we will be well rewarded. For as Bruh Paul so eloquently and reassuringly said to the church at Rome, re the trials and tribulations we would face for Jesus’ sake:
‘Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the LOVE of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom. 8:37-39)
And that’s an indisputable fact my people! How can anything separate us from the LOVE of God in Christ Jesus when we’ve been eternally sealed by the Holy Spirit eh, as declared by these two scriptures? ‘That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ (Jewish believers). In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest (the down payment or deposit) of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.’ (Eph. 1:12-14)
Oh friends, after we believed, we were sealed by Jesus with the Holy Spirit, as a down payment or guarantee of our salvation. And this next scripture, also from Ephesians simply says it this way: ‘Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption’ (Eph. 4:29-30)
That’s it in a nutshell my fellow saints! We can do all we need to do for Jesus, and we cannot ever be torn away from Him. So with that resounding assurance, let’s get out there and work our fingers to the bone for Him, like He did for us nuh. That’s only fair. And to help us in that cause, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn asking for help in these dire times of need.
Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And the operative words in that prayer are ‘when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face.’ Yes, that’s when divine aid will come rushing down from heaven. Much LOVE!
…nothing whatsoever…can ever separate us…from the LOVE of God through Christ Jesus
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
25 Oct 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: acknowledge God in all thy ways, balmy temps, be not wise in thine own eyes, better examples of Christian living, bind them about thy neck, compassions, depart from evil, despise not the chastening of the Lord, escalating problems, faith, fear the Lord, forget no my law, Friday chant, god, God's goodness and mercies, good understanding, he shall direct thy paths, health to thy navel, high esteem, holy spirit, if thou wilt walk in my ways, in the sight of God and man, Jesus Christ, keep my statutes and commandments, lean not unto your own understanding, length of days, lengthen thy days, let not mercy and truth forsake thee, let thine heart keep my commandments, live up to our words, long life, LOVE, marrow to thy bones, mercy, my son forget not my law, neither be thou weary of his correction, new every mrning, omnipotent help, peace, praise Your Holy Name, put God first place, seek ye first the kingdom of God, simmering unrest, sinful world, so shalt thou find favour, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, Thank You Lord, the first fruits of all thine increase, thy barns be filled with plenty, thy presses burst out with new wine, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, truth, undeserving children of men, unexpected storms, ungodly earth, wake up and smell the coffee, whom the Loves he corrects, wisdom, wise guidance, write them upon the table of thine heart
Proverbs 3:1. My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
Well, it looks like another day filled with mostly sunshine, but not balmy temps; just seasonal ones! (smile) But we’ll take the sunshine anytime over the gloom, and thus we can joyfully shout: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and the weekend is here at long last!
And I do hope that all of us gave much thanks to the Lord for allowing us to wake up and see another day on this amazing, though too sinful and ungodly earth, because it’s only through His goodness and mercies, His amazing compassions, which are new every morning, that we are not destroyed! (Lam. 3:22-23) And all God’s children gave a grateful shout of, ‘Thank You Lord for Your goodness and mercy to us undeserving children of men! We LOVE You and praise Your Holy Name! Amen.’
Now, if those words truly came from our hearts, if we were sincere in our prayer, then, let’s try and live up to it nuh, as we go about our lives today. And how do we do that? Basically by keeping God first place in our lives, and there are lots of scriptures that remind us of that, especially this one from Jesus, that we sometimes get tired of hearing, (smile) but which is oh so necessary for us to remember each and every day. ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33)
Yes, it can be somewhat tiring to hear it, but we need to constantly remember it, so that we can practice it daily. God cannot get to be and stay first place in our lives unless and until we put Him there, and keep Him there! And that can only be done by having the Holy Spirit constantly reminding us of it.
And we have that marvellous example of doing just that in Cousin Sol’s early days, when he asked the Lord for wisdom and understanding to rule His people Israel, and the Lord was so pleased, that he didn’t ask for wealth and long life and the lives of his enemies, that He gave him those very things; wealth and honour, power and wisdom like no other man before or after him. (1 Kin. 3:6-13) But there was also this most important proviso. ‘And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen (prolong) thy days.’ (1 Kin. 3:14)
Yes friends, Cousin Sol needed to walk in God’s will for all those blessings to continue and come to pass. But sadly, in his old age, he forgot about God and turned to the many gods of his concubines. And that’s why the Lord LOVED Bruh David and elevated him and his name so much; despite all of his wrong doings, he never turned away from the God of his forefathers, always had a place in his heart for Him, always turned to Him for guidance and wisdom.
And it’s rather sad and unfortunate that Cousin Sol lost his way with God, especially after writing all the wonderful things in Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. Now, let’s check out this one passage from Proverbs that covers it all; that marvellous scripture in chapter 3, so aptly titled – Keep My Commandments.
Please read and inwardly digest with me (smile). ‘My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace shall they add to thee.’ (Prov. 3:1-2) It’s the very same things the Lord had told Cousin Sol in the passage above from Kings. Then he continues: ‘Let not mercy (LOVING-kindness) and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding (high esteem) in the sight of God and man.’ (Prov. 3:3-4)
More absolute truth my fellow believers. But here are the most practical guidelines ever, in keeping God first place in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, all from the pen of Cousin Sol. ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make smooth or straight) thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel (body), and marrow (strength, refreshment) to thy bones.
Honour the Lord with thy substance (possessions), and with the first fruits of thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses (vats) shall burst out with new wine. My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be thou weary of his correction: For whom the Lord LOVETH he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.’ (Prov. 3:5-12)
And that’s basically how we keep God first place in our lives! It’s not always easy, but that’s why we were given the Holy Spirit to help and guide us in doing so. Now, with all of that wonderful scripture under our belts, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant to get divine aid to help with our earthly problems.
Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
But you know what friends, in the long run it all boils down to us being improved and better examples of Christian living. Unless that happens, we will not see any divine aid. Please, let’s remember that and act accordingly, Much LOVE!
…with God first place in us…there’s no need to worry…about anything…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
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