09 Jan 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bed of roses, action word, agape, antibiotics, awesome truth, believers, between a rock and a hard place, bravely, Bruh Paul, charity, cooped up, disciples, doesn't boast, doesn't envy, dr robert h schuller, each generation, eros, evil, exciting thought, eye-opening experiences, faith is dim, fantastic, fantastic lesson, God LOVES me, God's help, God's LOVE, good fortune, good news, grace and favour of God, graceful truth, gumption, happy report, heahten, holy sentence, holy spirit, Hour of Power Devotional, hypocrites, ice, incomprehensible, iniquity, Jesus Christ, laugh, life's a blast, LOVE, Love does no harm, LOVE FOR EACH OTHER, Love fulfills the law, LOVE one another, LOVE Revolution, marathon session, negative emotions, never fails, new commandment, no waiting, not arrogant, not evil, not rude, not selfish, petty problems, pharmacy, prophecies, put in my heart, ran the race, rejoice, root canal, sadly lacking, scoff, short of Love, slush, snow, sparsely populated, suffers long, temptations, tests, Thank you Father, the Way of LOVE, tongues, troubled world, truth, ugly reality, unbeliever, ungodly world, unloving attitude, walking with Jesus, warm cocoon, wisdom, withstand
Romans 13:10. LOVE worketh no ill (does no harm) to his neighbour: therefore LOVE is the fulfilling of the law.
Aye mih breddren, life’s certainly a blast yes! For the first time in about ten days, I actually ventured out of my safe, warm cocoon yesterday, and faced the ugly reality that is the outside world. It’s the longest I’ve ever been cooped up in a house that I can remember.
At least when I had prostate cancer surgery a few years back, it was summer, and I could sit outside on either the front porch or the back deck. In any case though, I never really felt cooped up this past week because for most of it I was sick and the weather was terrible. And it seems that quite a few people did the same thing, for the same reasons.
Anyway, would you believe I did a marathon session out there yesterday! Wow! Bruh Paul would have been proud of how I ran that race! (smile) I left home, went up the street to a nearby Walmart, then went all the way down to the other end of the city, to the banker, the barber, the grocer and the doctor.
Mama Mia! In truth though, it wasn’t as bad as it sounds, because the last four places were in close proximity to each other, about two blocks separated them all. So I got up my gumption and bravely walked through the snow, ice and slush that covered the sidewalks and parking lots.
And wonder of wonders, in NONE of those four places did I have to wait, for all of them were sparsely populated! As soon as I walked into everyone, I was immediately served. I had to laugh at my good fortune, because as most of you know those four places usually call for a fair amount of waiting.
But then I realized that it was our wonderful God pouring out His abundant grace and favour on me, since I wasn’t in the best of shape, and it was still windy and cold. Obviously I let Him know that I was very thankful. The only place I had a short wait was at the Pharmacy later on where I went to get some antibiotics that the medic prescribed.
That’s why Friends, today, like Gramps Schuller (Robert H. Schuller) I can certainly attest to and loudly proclaim that ‘GOD LOVES ME!’ And also say along with His prayer from His Hour of Power Devotional.
‘Thank you, Lord, for this holy sentence, this good news, this happy report, this exciting thought, this graceful truth, this fantastic lesson. GOD LOVES ME! Even when I’m at my worst — GOD LOVES ME. Even when my faith is dim — GOD LOVES ME ANYWAY! It’s incomprehensible and fantastic! Thank you, Father. Amen.’
Ah mih people, I keep reminding us that walking with Jesus is not a bed of roses, but betwixt and between the tests and temptations, there are indeed wonderful, refreshing, rejuvenating, interesting and eye-opening experiences. The only problem now is that I have to go to the dentist today for some root canal work. Let’s see how that will play out. (smile)
But enough of my petty problems, let’s turn to our Bit, which deals with LOVE, something that our troubled world so badly needs but unfortunately is sadly lacking.
As the old song so truthfully stated back then, and is even more appropriate now, in these sad days of strife and the preponderance of negative emotions: ‘What the world needs now, is LOVE, SWEET LOVE. That’s the only thing, there’s just too little of…’
And oh my brethren, is that ever so true! LOVE comes from our God, and is what makes our world go round, or function properly, but right now we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place because we’re so SHORT of LOVE.
We claim to know about God’s LOVE for us, but what we seem unable to fathom and put into place is OUR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER. And a long while back, Bruh Paul put it to the Romans this way in our Bit: ‘LOVE worketh no ill (does no harm) to his neighbour: therefore LOVE is the fulfilling of the law.’
Now that’s the awesome truth Friends! For even before Bruh Paul’s comment, Jesus Himself commanded His disciples, and therefore us, and all His true followers: ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye LOVE one another; as I have LOVED you, that ye also LOVE one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’ (John 13:34-35)
Oh my fellow believers, Jesus was talking there about revolutionizing the world through LOVE! It was the beginning of the LOVE Revolution, which each generation of believers is supposed to carry on, but which, unfortunately we’re not doing, since we’re not showing LOVE to each other.
Remember it’s through our showing of LOVE to each other that the world will know that we’re disciples of Jesus. And since we’re not doing it, that means we’re not His true disciples.
No wonder the unbeliever, the heathens and many others laugh and scoff at us, and consider us hypocrites because they quite plainly see our ‘UNLOVING’ attitudes and behaviour towards each other and the world in general.
That’s why I keep reminding us that LOVE is an ACTION WORD! We simply can’t talk it and expect it to happen. LOVE only takes place when we DO SOMETHING TO SHOW IT!
Consequently, Bruh Paul, who saw the need for LOTS OF LOVE in the evil, ungodly world, penned one of the most beautiful chapters of the Bible; re the WAY OF LOVE. And we’ll close by quoting a few appropriate verses from it, just to remind us what TRUE LOVE is all about.
And we’re not talking about ‘Eros’ or romantic LOVE, but ‘agape’, the spiritual LOVE that flows from God, and is supposed to be so jubilantly and vibrantly working in us through the Holy Spirit that indwells us.
So please listen up Friends, neighbours, heathens, whoever you are, for only these things will ever right our wrong-sided world.
‘Charity (LOVE) suffereth long, and is kind; charity (LOVE) envieth not; charity (LOVE) vaunteth not (does not brag on) itself, is not puffed up (arrogant), Doth not behave itself unseemly (rudely), seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil (keeps no accounts of evil);
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity (LOVE) never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail (cease): whether there be tongues, they shall cease, whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.’ (1 Cor.13:4-8)
And that’s the God-awesome truth my people! Therefore, let’s ponder all these things today nuh, and with God’s ever-present, never-ending help, make the necessary changes in our attitudes and behaviour, so that we can leave this world a much better place for our children. That’s the only wisdom there is! Much LOVE!
…if we’re not actively doing LOVE…then we’re not true disciples of Christ…as simple as that…
P.S. Friends, the Bit’s long and late, but it’s what God put in my heart to write today. Much LOVE!
06 Jan 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abandoned, admonish, adrenalin, all year round, aura of love, be proud, believe, best present, blustery winter's morn, bright sunshine, brother, Bruh Paul, busybodies, Christ-like feeling, Christmas Season, commanded, confidence, conquerors, correct, Creator of the universe, death row, Devil's workshop, disobedience, enemy's wicked taunts, enthusiasm, evil, excommunication, faithful Being, forgiveness, further your glorious kingdom, good works, goodwill to men, grace, heavenly Father, hoopla, humble servants, idle hands, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, judgement morn, jump start, keeping lives and families together, lies, lord god almighty, lord jesus christ, LOVE, meddlesome ways, meddling, meet the enemy in battle, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, new year 2014, New Year's hangover, obedience, peace, Praise the Lord, praise Your Holy Name, pray, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, sally forth, second chance, serve a useful purpose, shame, should not eat, sing God's praises, snow, snow-white Monday, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, strength and energy, surrender, Thessalonians, ungodly world, valiant fight for Jesus, walk disorderly, warm temps, warn, we're not afraid, weary souls, week of work, well doing, wiles, wonderful god, work ethic, worthwhile inroads, would not work
2 Thessalonians 3:10. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday, a beautiful snow-white Monday in my area, and the ole fella’s feeling a tad better. Praise the Lord!
However for those of you going to work in the Greater Toronto Area, please leave early, and be very careful, for there’s a fair amount of snow on the ground. And for those of you enjoying bright sunshine with warm temps, please enjoy it and pray for us who unfortunately don’t have that luxury. (smile)
Anyway Friends, it’s Monday and all the hoopla from the Christmas season is now over, but please let that Christ-like feeling of joy, peace and goodwill to men reign all year round. It’s the best present we can give to Christ.
And I know that many of us are still suffering from the New Year’s hangover and don’t want to go back to work, but that’s life mih people, for as Bruh Paul says, if you don’t work, you shouldn’t eat. But though we find it extremely difficult to get up and get back in the flow of things, we just have to.
And as always, our Monday Morning Battle Hymn is here to help us do just that. So with all the strength and energy we can muster this blustery winter’s morn, let’s sing it out loud, believe and be proud.
‘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 my people, let’s allow that adrenalin build up to jump start our motors and get us going, so we can get out there and fight a valiant fight for Jesus, thereby enabling us to walk closer with Him this new year of 2014. For remember, that’s what we’ve resolved to do.
And Friends, I can’t help but sing and extol our wonderful God’s praises everyday, because everyday He does something that amazes me. Now, after writing above, about Bruh Paul saying that if you don’t work, you shouldn’t eat, I went looking for that particular scripture, so I could note it.
And, lo and behold, I not only found it, but found in it a Bit that nicely dovetailed with the work ethic that we were talking about on this first Monday in the new year. Up until then, I had absolutely no idea what I was going to write about.
That’s why I keep saying that our great God is the most faithful Being there is, if we sincerely try to adhere to His dictates. We might not understand all that He says or does, but we can be assured that He will never leave us suspended in mid-air without a safe way to escape.
Now let’s turn to that most interesting Bit. ‘For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.’
And there’s a lot of sense to that my people! As Bruh Paul continues: ‘For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.’ (2 Thess.3:11-12)
And there are undoubtedly many amongst us who fall into that category; spend more time meddling than working. And the scholars have this to say about those verses.
‘3:10-12. Paul expounds his simple and straightforward work ethic; If a person will not work, he should not eat! The Thessalonians’ diversion encouraged their meddlesome ways, demonstrating that “idle hands are the Devil’s workshop.’ Or as we would say; the devil finds work for idle hands.
However my fellow believers, please note Bruh Paul’s next words. ‘But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing. And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish (warn, correct) him as a brother.’ (2 Thess.3:13-15)
So though there are annoying and meddlesome people amongst us, we still need to keep up with our good works.
As the scholars put it: ‘3:14-15. This instruction falls short of excommunication. Paul intends his readers to shame the brother, who is not an enemy, into obedience.’
Yes Friends, we ought to try our very best to get our misbehaving brothers and sisters to see the light, not simply abandon them because of their disobedience.
Remember that if God had simply abandoned us because of our disobedience, right now we’d be sitting on death row, waiting for the judgement morn to come, when we’d be separated from Almighty God forever. But He, in his great mercy, LOVE and forgiveness, gave us a second chance, and so should we to our brethren.
And we’ll end with Bruh Paul’s words. ‘Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all… The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.’ (2 Thess.3:16, 18) Much LOVE, my brethren!
…but let none of you suffer…as a busybody (meddler)…in other men’s matters… (1 Pet.4:15b)
30 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 2013, 2014, Anglican Journal, anxiety, appreciation, astute generation, aura of love, battle, blessings, blues, commandments, confidence, consequences, correct behaviour, covenant, Creator of the universe, curses, Deuteronomy 28, diligently, disastrous, disgusting behaviour, disobedience, disobedient, disobey, do as God commands, don't turn aside, edicts, enemy, enthusiasm, error of our ways, evil, further God's glorious kingdom, Holy Name, holy spirit, humble servants, invincible, Israelites, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, jobs, judgement, keeping lives and families together, lead and guide, lies, lord god almighty, LOVE, Love God, Love your neighbour as yourself, material things, modern times, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Moses, negative emotion, New Year's Eve, obedience, Old Testament, opinions, praise, Praise the Lord, promise, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, sally forth, saviour, sinful, sovereign God, spiritual armour, statutes, steadfast faith, stimulus, sure conquerors, surrender, Ten Commandments, the Good Book, tightening the screws, tiredness, to the left, to the right, truth, ungodly world, useful purpose, walk in God's ways, weary souls, wicked taunts, wiles, wise, work week, worthwhile inroads
Deuteronomy 5:32: Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
And another bright Monday morning dawns my Friends; the last one in this topsy turvy year of 2013! But the good news is that we don’t have to work for the whole five days, because New Year’s falls in the middle of the week… And all working people gave a joyful shout of ‘Praise the Lord!’
Well mih breddren, please let’s allow some of that enthusiasm to flow into our spirits this morning nuh, so that we can leave the blues, the tiredness, the anxiety and whatever other negative emotion that has us in grip, far behind. Let’s concentrate on the mid-week joy of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day and consequently belt out our last, but also our most emphatic and enthusiastic Monday Morning Battle Hymn of 2013. That’s the least we can do to show our appreciation for a shortened work week. (smile)
As one now mih people, let’s bring the roof down: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh Friends, that was most wonderful! We obviously can’t wait to ring out the old year and ring in 2014. But yuh know what? I have to tell us that if we behave the same sinful, disobedient way like we did in 2013, 2014 won’t be any better. In fact it might just be worse, be more disastrous, because I believe our God is truly getting tired of our disgusting behaviour and is intent on tightening the screws.
Again, I’m calling on us people, to walk in God’s ways, as He directed the Israelites so long ago in our Bit. ‘Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.’
Now is that so difficult to do my fellow believers, especially when the very existence of our way of life and our world is involved? I should think not!
I read recently in a copy of the Anglican Journal where one reader was castigating another for trying to hold this generation to the same edicts as the Israelites in the Old Testament. Now some of what he said was true, and he put forward the argument that what we should concentrate on in these supposedly modern times are the two commandments that Jesus gave us: LOVE your God, and your neighbour as yourself.
Now that’s all well and good, but the simple truth is that we can’t even seem to obey those two simple commands. Judging from the behaviour of our society and our world in general, too many of us obviously DON’T LOVE GOD, OURSELVES, OR OUR NEIGHBOURS!
So what kind of world do we expect to have under those conditions eh? Not a very good one. And in any case, to fulfill those two commandments of Jesus, we basically still have to live the life set out in the Old Testament; e.g. the Ten Commandments.
Ah my fellow believers, if we truly believe that the Good Book was inspired by God, and what it says is true, then we definitely need to refresh our minds by reading Deuteronomy 28, where Moses spells out the blessings of obedience, as well as the consequences of disobedience to the Israelites.
And remember, the Word of our Sovereign God DOES NOT CHANGE! That means those words still apply to us TODAY!
Listen up as I quote the first two verses of Deuteronomy 28: ‘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 the nations of the earth: And 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) Then the blessings are spelled out from verses 3 to 14.
Now hear the Good Book re the consequences of disobedience. ‘But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto (obey) the voice of the Lord thy God to observe to do (observe carefully) all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.’ (Deut.28:15) And the curses are then spelled out from verse 16-68. That should tell us something people; that the curses are much worse than the blessings.
The scholars note: ‘This is probably due to human nature. The threat of severe judgement on the covenant-breaker seems to act as a stronger stimulus to correct behaviour than any promise of blessing.’
I beg to disagree though, for if it did, we would not be as sinful, evil and ungodly a society and world, as we are today. It’s obvious that we don’t care about the blessings or the curses, we’re just interested in the foolish material things and opinions that the evil world holds dear, considers so important that we must even disobey Jehovah God to have and do them.
Anyway Friends, enough for today. But Friends, please, please read Deuteronomy 28, for yourselves, and hopefully it will bring a lot of us to our senses, and we’ll finally realize the error of our ways, and try to do better, so that the curses of Almighty God won’t rain down on us anymore than they are currently doing. Then will we be considered a wise and astute generation. Much LOVE!
…in any language…or court of opinion…the blessings of obedience…are much, much more valuable…than the curses of disobedience…
16 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abraham, actions of care, all praise and glory to God, aura of love, battle, believers in Christ, blessings, bombarded, buffeted, camels, children of men, confidence, counter-productive, Cousin Sol, damsel, drink, earthly pilgrimage, encouraging, enemy, enthusiasm, evil, exhorting, eyes of faith, eyes of the world, faithful, families, favour, friends, glorious kingdom, good speed, gratitude, guidance, Holy Name, holy spirit, humble servants, hymn, in faith, inroads, invincible, Isaac, Jesus Christ, jobs, kindness, lead and guide, lies, lives, living examples, lord god almighty, LOVE, make rich, Mesospotamia, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Nahor, no sorrow, not afraid, peace, prayer, productive, protective spiritual armour, Rebekah, reflected in our spirits, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, requests, sally forth, searching heart, sense of awe, shaking it rough, smart, steadfast faith, success, supplication, sure conquerors, the Good Book, the Old Testamnet, truly blessed, ungodly world, useful purpose, valuable truths, weary souls, wicked taunts, wiles, worship the Lord
Proverbs 10:22. The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, on this Monday morning in mid December, cold and snowy in my area, I want us to remember one outstanding thing about our situations on this earthly pilgrimage; that as believers in Jesus Christ, WE ARE TRULY BLESSED!
Yes my people, like the song says; ‘Oh we, we are blessed. Let’s tell the world that we, we are blessed!’ (my version)
And that’s exactly what Jesus would have us do my brethren! And not only tell them, but even better yet, show them by our gratitude to God, our actions of care, kindness and LOVE for each other, being living examples of His true LOVE for us!
So no matter how our situations look this morning, whether we’re shaking it rough or not, let’s remember that it’s only because we are truly blessed that we can sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn in faith, and have it eventually reflected in our spirits.
So with that in mind, let’s sing that awesome hymn of prayer and praise to get us ready to face the outside world in this new workweek. All together now in one melodious voice.
‘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!’
Ah mih breddren, reading that prayer always brings a chuckle to my spirit, as well as a sense of awe and gratitude.
Why? Because I don’t even remember the how, where, when and why of writing it. But I do know that I was indeed blessed, and had plenty of God’s help and guidance to write it, for I certainly could not have done it all in my own strength.
That’s why I keep preaching…oh no, not preaching…but what…possibly exhorting…because I’m much more an exhorter, an encourager, than a preacher.
So yes, that’s why I keep exhorting and encouraging us to turn to our Heavenly Creator first, and ask for guidance, before we embark on any task whatsoever!
Though sometimes that might seem foolish and counter-productive in the eyes of the world, yet through the eyes of faith in Jesus Christ, that move is ALWAYS PRODUCTIVE, since our God WILL NEVER lead us astray, if we come to Him in true gratitude and a sincere, searching heart.
That’s why Cousin Sol tells us in our Bit today: ‘The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.’
And that’s one of the many valuable truths contained in the Good Book my people!
Now we only have time and space left for two corroborative scriptures, and both come from the Old Testament. The first relates to Abraham, when he sent his servant to his homeland to seek a wife for his son Isaac. And what happened?
The servant took ten of Abraham’s camels loaded with goods, and went to Mesopotamia, to the city where Nahor, Abraham’s brother lived.
‘And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of evening, even the time that women go out to draw water. And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed (give me success) this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham.
Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast showed kindness unto my master.’ (Gen.24:11-14)
Oh Friends that servant was truly smart and faithful! Wish more of us could be so inclined. (smile) For the Lord heard, and responded with favour and blessing.
‘And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.’ (Gen.24:15)
And she did all that the servant had prayed to the Lord for. (Gen.24:16-25) Please read it my people, either to familiarize yourself with it, or to refresh your memory.
‘And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute (forsaken) my master of his mercy (LOVING-kindness) and his truth: I being in the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.’ (Gen.24:26-27)
And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord, for His undeserving kindness to the children of men!’ Yes Friends, the Lord works with us when we work with Him.
Hn, hn! But apparently I wasn’t working with Him when I said that we had time for two examples of scripture, (smile) because we only have time for one. So tomorrow, God willing, we’ll continue with this topic.
Till then, may the Lord bless and keep us safe under His mighty umbrella of LOVE and safety, give us His wonderful peace, and cause us to live faithfully for Him. Much LOVE!
…be careful (anxious) for nothing…but in every thing… by prayer and supplication…with thanksgiving…let your requests be made known unto God… (Phil.4:6)
P.S. Oh Friends, it’s Monday, so it must be a bit long. (smile)
14 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: absolute truth, advantage of knowledge, affliction, all generations, baring our souls, come first, comforting words, Creator, defence, divine truth, earthly life, elementary observation, encourage, epic writing, evil, faithfulness, God's Holy word, God's wisdom, God's word shall stand forever, good and sensible life, heaven, heaven and earth shall pass away, heavenly Father, human creation, incontestable fact, irrefutable, Jesus Christ, logically speaking, LOVE, loving kindness, make known with my mouth, mercy, money, my delight, one truth from the Bible, ordinances, perished, pondering, principal thing, protective shade, psalm 119, put the cart before the horse, regular reading, scripture, Sherlock, singing God's praises, straight from the horse's mouth, studying of the Good Book, supreme ruler, testify, the BIBLE, the flower fades, the grass withers, the law, time immemorial, tome of directives, two-faced world, understanding, ungodly world, useful things, wisdom gives life, wisdom of man, workings of the world
Psalm 89:1. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
Oh Friends, on this cold and windy Saturday morning in this 2013 Christmas season, with a severe snowstorm in the offing, I’ve been directed to remind us of two highly important things in this our earthly lives.
Now the first reminder is that the Bible is God’s Holy and unchangeable Word to us, still fresh as when He first gave it, many many centuries ago. And if we read it, we will most certainly find God’s wisdom laid out in its pages.
And that’s not only divine truth my people, but also a major part of why we’re not, as a society, attaining more successfully to wisdom. We’re simply not reading God’s Word enough, so how can we ever hope to become truly wise eh? For without true wisdom we cannot successfully navigate the deceit, the lies, the evil machinations and all the other negatives that come against us in this godless world.
And the second thing I’ve been guided to point out is that ‘One truth from the Bible is worth more than all the wisdom of man!’ Now isn’t that also the God-awesome truth my breddren? It surely is! And besides, it’s the most important truth you’ll hear today!
And what does all that add up to eh? When we are filled with God’s wisdom and truth from His Word, it enables us to lead a good and sensible life. As Cousin Sol so wisely declares: ‘For wisdom is a defence (a protective shade), and money is a defence: but the excellency (advantage) of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.’ (Eccl.7:12)
And that’s definitely more divine truth my people! A lot of stuff might be good or bad for us, but when we have excellent knowledge through God’s Word, of the workings of the world and this earthly life, then it puts us a step or two ahead of those without it.
Oh Friends, this crazy, evil and ungodly world unfortunately has us putting the cart before the horse, so to speak. That means we do everything else first, then if we have a spare moment, and feel so inclined, we might just open the Good Book and quickly peruse a few pages. But that’s ever so wrong my people! The Good Book should ALWAYS COME FIRST in our deliberations!
For logically speaking, if it’s so full of wisdom and knowledge and understanding and all those other good and useful things, how can we go out into the current two-faced world and lead a wise and sensible life without first consulting that mighty tome of God’s directives eh? Ole Sherlock would certainly have considered that an elementary observation my brethren. (smile)
And having done as directed, let’s turn to our Bit: ‘I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.’
Now that, my Friends, is one of the many worthwhile things regular reading and studying of the Good Book will have us consistently doing. And there’s nothing like singing the praises of our most wonderful Deity, whose faithfulness and LOVING-kindness has been proven from time immemorial, right down to this very day.
And I know that many of us can personally testify to that irrefutable, incontestable fact. And just to prove that all we’ve said above is the absolute truth, let’s look at some scripture on the topic from God’s Holy Word.
And we’ll begin with some verses form that epic bit of writing, Psalm 119, where the author boldly proclaims: ‘For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled (stands firm) in heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth (stands). They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants. Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction.’ (Ps.119:89-92)
And that, my fellow believers still applies to all who populate the earth today!
Now hear this short but mighty verse from the prophet Isaiah, re comfort and trust in the Lord. ‘The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.’ (Is.40:8)
Oh mih people, mih people, what strong, faithful and comforting words!
And if you think that the Lord didn’t truly imbue Isaiah with such a worthy insight, then listen to God Himself, through His Son Jesus, tell it like it truly is. ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.’ (Matt.24:35)
There’s no need to say anymore my brethren, for you’ve heard it straight from the horse’s mouth, Jesus Christ incarnate, who WAS, IS and WILL ALWAYS BE the Creator and Supreme Ruler of this universe!
Nuff said for today, my Friends. Now let’s spend some time pondering what we’ve read and heard and hope that it will encourage us to come together more often with our heavenly Father, reading and studying His Word, and also baring our souls to Him, so that we can all attain to greater wisdom, for that’s what He truly desires of all His human creation. Much LOVE!
…Wisdom is the principal thing…therefore get wisdom…and with all thy getting…get understanding… (Prov.4:7)
10 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ability to choose, ability to think, advice, affectionate, anger, avenge not, believers, bless, brotherly LOVE, Bruh Paul, bundle of good, Christ's Church, Christian nation, complain, conceit, condescend, curse not, diligence, dissensions, disturbed sleep, dividing, divisions, drifitng apart, enemy, estimation, evil, evil for evil, eye teeth, feed, feel rotten, fervent, followers of Jesus christ, functions, give drink, glorify God, grow, growth, harmony, heap coals of fire, honesty, hospitality, human animal, humble, hypocrisy, in christ, in the end, Jesus Christ, live peaceably, longevity, LOVE, Love God, LOVE your neighbour, low estate, meaningful, members, message, miserable, needs, negative stuff, not always easy, One Body, option, overcome evil with good, overcome of eveil, patient, peace, perplexed, persecute, petty jealousies, petty woes, please Jesus, politice, prayer, preference, preseverance, prized creation, problems, rampant, rebels, recompense, reconciled, rejoicing in hope, repay, resentment, right decision, Romans 12, rumours of war, sacrifice, sad, saints, selfish, serving the Lord, sinless life, slothful, steadfast, talk a good talk, thirst, tired, tribulation, truth, ungodly world, unity of brethren, values of God, values of the world, vengeance hunger, walk, walk in sync, wars, weep, wisdom, work together, works out for good, wrath
Romans 12:4-5. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office (function): So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one (individually) members one of another.
Oh Friends, have you ever experienced the unparalleled joy of going to bed feeling fairly okay, but waking up a few hours later feeling terrible? Well I experienced that joy this morning.
Chuh! I went to bed at a decent hour, feeling good enough, but lo and behold when I got up… brother did I ever feel rotten, tired and miserable! I could barely get myself together. I don’t know if it’s because the phone rang during the night and disturbed my sleep, but I sure had a hard time coming around.
Enough of my petty woes though, a lot of people would give their eye-teeth (smile) to have my problems, compared to their own. And I truly don’t have that much to complain about, for the Lord’s been looking after me fairly well.
Now that doesn’t mean it’s always easy, but it always works out for good in the end. And that is basically the message Bruh Paul is trying to convey to us in our Bit, which continues from yesterday.
‘For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office (function): So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one (individually) members one of another.’
Oh my brethren, as members of Christ’s church, though we have different gifts and different functions we desperately need to work together for it to be successful! That’s the ONLY way the church will ever grow and become meaningful in this evil and ungodly world!
Look at it nuh Friends, everything else that the Lord made without brains function perfectly in His universe. However, the human animal, His most prized creation, the one thing that He made with the ability to think, constantly rebels against Him.
We cannot seem to work together in peace, LOVE and harmony, as He desires. Even those of us who proclaim to be followers of Jesus Christ, who profess to keep the two great commandments – LOVE God, and LOVE your neighbour as yourself – we’re way too often hypocritical on the matter.
And sadly, that hypocrisy seems to be rampant in Christ’s church, where it has absolutely no place. Why is that eh? Possibly because we’re still too selfish, still holding on to the foolish values of the world as our templates for life, instead of the values of God.
Now let’s continue from where we left off yesterday, with Bruh Paul’s advice to the Romans about what should be happening in their church.
‘Be kindly affectioned (affectionate) one to another with brotherly LOVE; in honour preferring (giving preference to) one another; Not slothful (lagging in diligence) in business; fervent (boiling over) in spirit; serving the Lord;
Rejoicing in hope; patient (persevering) in tribulation; continuing instant (steadfastly) in prayer; Distributing to the necessity (needs) of saints (believers); given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless (speak well of), and curse not.
Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not (don’t sent your minds on) high things; but condescend to men of low estate (associate with the humble). Be not wise in your own conceits (estimation).
Recompense to (repay) no man evil for evil. Provide things honest (have regard for good things) in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in (depends on) you, live peaceably with all men.
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.’ (Rom.12:10-20)
Oh my people, how much of all that can we say is truly happening in our world eh? Not a whole lot, otherwise there would not be as many wars and rumours of war.
And what about Christ’s church eh? How much of that wise advice are we showing in the church of today?
Unfortunately not a whole lot either, because if we were doing a good job the anger, resentment, petty jealousies, politics and all the other negative stuff would not be as rampant as they are, and the divisions and dissensions would thus be much less amongst our Christian nation.
But sadly, everyday we hear about more negative stuff happening in the church, and instead of coming together as we ought to, we’re dividing and drifting further and further apart.
As I said yesterday, Jesus must be sad and perplexed about how to solve our problems. But my people, He did the best He could; He did His part by sacrificing His sinless life so that we could be reconciled to the Father. Now we’re foolishly behaving as though we never needed that option, and it’s not important.
Jesus can’t come and hold everybody’s hands yuh know. It’s now up to us to make the right decision. That’s why our Creator gave us a mind and the ability to choose.
Oh my fellow believers, we talk a very good talk, but our walk surely doesn’t reflect that talk. That’s our major problem. And until we get both our talk and walk in sync, make them jive, Christ’s church will never come together as it should.
Now we’ll end our discourse today, the same way Bruh Paul ends Romans 12, with some of the best advice we can ever receive. ‘Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.’ (Rom.12:21)
Now that my brethren is all the different kinds of wisdom and truth wrapped up in one small, but very powerful package! Let’s endeavour to truly heed it nuh, to sincerely adopt it in our lives, for it will do us a bundle of good.
And even more importantly, it will please Jesus and glorify our heavenly Father, the main purpose for which we were originally created. Much LOVE!
…the unity of the brethren…is essential…of the utmost importance… for the longevity and growth of Christ’s church…
P.S. In yesterday’s Bit I left an empty bracketed space between ‘volitional caring’ in the scholars’ note, because I wanted to find a simpler synonym for it, but with all the technical problems I forgot to fill it.
It basically means ‘will or desire,’ a caring that we raise up from deep within our very souls for others. And that’s something we very much need to do these days my people. Much LOVE!
09 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: #One, abhor, advice, almighty god, aura of love, battles, Bruh Paul, caring, cheerfulness, Christ's Church, Christian's conduct, cleave, cling to, cockles, communion, confidence, conquerors, Creator of the universe, denominations, detest, diligence, dissimulation, divide and conquer, divisions, duties, enthusiasm, evil, evil doers, exhortation, exuberant, faith, fighting against each other, functions, further your glorious kingdom, genuine, gifts, giving, good, grace, guilty, harmonious choir, heavenly Father, holy spirit, humble servants, hypocrisy, infeigned, inroads, invincible, Jesus Christ, jesus name, jobs, joy of the lord, keeping families together, lead and guide, liberally, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, members, mercy, ministry, Monday Morniing Battle Hymn, ONE body in Christ, Oneness, overcome, problems, prophecy, prosperity mode, razor-like sharpness, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, reverence, righteous fruit, rule, salutations, simplicity, soar to great heights, Son and Father, spirits, spiritual lives, stand up strong, steadfast faith, teaching, umbrella, under the weather, ungodly world, useful purpose, vanquish, warrior mentality, wisdom, working together, worldly circumstances
Romans 12:4-5. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office (function): So we being many, are one body in Christ, and every one (individually) members one of another.
Aye mih people! How you all doing this bright and picturesque Monday morning eh? Oh, I know that many of us are under the weather, probably undergoing serious problems, be they physical, material, financial or emotional. But I sincerely hope that at least our spiritual lives are in prosperity mode this morning, which will allow us to at least stand up strong to, if not overcome, whatever problems are coming against us.
For remember that the joy of the Lord is indeed our strength, (Neh.8:10) and it’s only when our spirits are in good communion with our heavenly Father that we are able to bear up under unfortunate worldly circumstances and eventually vanquish them. Wow! What a mouthful! (smile)
And Monday is the day that we most desperately need perfect communication with Almighty God, that we can be lifted up, enabled to go back out and labour after overdoing it on the weekend. Chuh! Be quiet nuh Lucifer! God’s people aren’t overdoing it… stop trying to make them feel guilty! Hn! Hn!
Anyway Friends, just in case, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with proper reverence and sincere salutations, so that our spirits can be lifted, our joy in our great and wonderful God restored, and our warrior mentality honed to razor-like sharpness for the upcoming battles of this new work week.
Now, as one big, exuberant and harmonious choir, 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!’
Oh mih people, yuh know that our singing is getting better and better each week! And it not only warms the cockles of my heart, but also those of the heavenly host. Mama Mia! They’re delighted, in fact overjoyed to see that their earthly family is finally coming together in the ONENESS that the Son and the Father so avidly desire.
And logically speaking Friends, the only way we can ever improve in any area of life is by working together. And please remember that Jesus died that we could all be gathered together as ONE; ONE BODY, ONE CHURCH, ONE SAVIOUR, ONE SPIRIT, and ONE GOD!
As Bruh Paul so eloquently puts it in his letter to the church at Rome, featured in our Bit: ‘For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office (function): So we being many, are one body in Christ, and every one (individually) members one of another.’
Yes my fellow believers, though we are individuals with differing functions, yet we are all expected to operate as one overwhelming body under the harmonious umbrella that’s Christ’s church.
Then Bruh Paul further explains: ‘Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity (liberality); he that ruleth with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness.’ (Rom.12:6-8)
Hn! So my brethren, though we all have different gifts and different duties to perform as a part of Christ’s church here on earth, we’re supposed to perform, to operate like the smooth, well-oiled, awesomely engineered, finely synchronized apparatus that’s the human body!
But unfortunately that’s the furthest thing from the truth these days, for instead we’re all fighting against each other with all the denominations and divisions within those denominations. I’m sure that Jesus sometimes sits down, shakes His head and sadly sighs: ‘What else do I have to do to make them work together eh?’
And that’s the gazillion dollar question Friends! For until we stop working against each other and begin working more closely together, the way Jesus envisions it, His church will never soar to great heights that He desires, and sadly Lucifer will continue to have a field day at His expense. And I’m sure that’s not what we truly want to see happen.
Now listen to this telling verse from Bruh Paul in the same sequence as above. ‘Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good.’ (Rom.12:9)
What wonderful advice my brethren!
And the scholars have an interesting note on that verse. ’12:9. Without dissimulation (lit. “without hypocrisy”). The Christian’s conduct in the local church toward fellow believers is to be a volitional (desire, will) caring for others, LOVING faithfully in spite of the responses received. THE LOVE IS TO BE GENUINE AND UNFEIGNED.’
The bold capitals are my doing, because I consider that statement to be rather important, and right now we’re nowhere close to achieving that desired result. So my people, if we truly want to please Jesus and grow His church substantially, we have to start working seriously together, embrace and uplift the LOVE REVOLUTION, and stop allowing the evil doers to divide and conquer us.
That, my fellow believers, is both earthly and heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…only by working together as one…can we truly bear righteous fruit…in Jesus’ Name…
P.S. Oh Friends, please excuse the lateness of the Bit, but I had some technical problems. Much LOVE!
02 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adrenalin, alive and kicking, aura of love, be wary, bow, Christ's death, clarion call, cleanse, confess, confidence, Creator of the universe, Cyber Monday, divine provision, earthly behaviour, enemy's taunts, energized, enthusiasm, eternal life, faithful, faithfulness, falter, famiies, forgiveness, friends, glorify, glorious kingdom, God's standard, gospel truth, grace, greedy merchants, Holy Name, holy spirit, human need, humble servants, immortal God, incentive, inroads, invincible, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, jobs, join the fray, judge, judicial standing, just, justice, justification, justified, lead and guide, lies, Lord and Saviour, loving kindness, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, mortals, nature, obedience, Oh Lord God Almighty, on Jesus' behalf, praise, ransom, redemption, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, righteous God, righteousness., salvation, saviour, shop on-line, shop till you drop, sinful disposition, sinful souls, sing with joy, sins, snares and traps, steadfast faith, succumb to temptation, sure conquerors, the glory of God, ungodly world, unmerited favour, unrighteousness, useful purpose
1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday…Cyber Monday! So jump and shout and get on your computers and start shopping on-line, as the greedy merchants would have you do! Shop until you drop!
Ah Lord eh! I hope you all realize though that I’m only being sarcastic, facetious and any other terms that are synonymous with those two. Steups! I have to shake my head in both wonder and disgust, for everyday we’re encouraged to buy more stuff.
And we come up with such foolish names; Black Friday, Cyber Monday, etc. And the sad part is that they are all consolidated around some important holiday, which tends to suck the life and true meaning out of the holiday, so that it soon becomes a mere opportunity to spend what we don’t have, and buy what we often don’t need, thereby enriching the already rich.
But please remember Friends, that there’s an immortal and righteous God in heaven looking down on us mere mortals, who will eventually judge us on our earthly behaviour. So please let’s be wary, and don’t fall into the snares and traps of the ungodly world. For we’re only supposed to be IN the world, not OF it.
Anyhow, enough sermonizing from me, (smile) let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with much gusto, so that we can get energized to go out and face the evil world, and be strong enough to repel them.
As one loud clarion call 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!’
Yes mih people, that ought to get our adrenalin flowing and give us the wherewithal to join the fray on Jesus’ behalf!
But just in case we unexpectedly falter and succumb to worldly temptations, it’s very important to know that relief is possible by following the guidelines of our Bit. ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’
Now Friends, isn’t that a real powerful and heart-warming incentive to believe in Jehovah God? It surely is! For there’s no other supposed deity who displays such LOVING-kindness, and the ONLY ONE, who can do what He did, cause He’s alive and kicking, while all the others are dead and of no use.
We talk about His faithfulness, justice and forgiveness, all truthful facts. Bruh Paul hit the nail on the head when he declared: ‘For all have sinned and come (fallen) short of the glory of God.’ (Rom.3:23) Sadly though my brethren, that sinful disposition has been bred into our very nature down through the ages.
The scholars reinforce this by saying: ‘3:23. For all have sinned: The human need and the divine provision are alike applied universally. Come short of the glory of God: Man can exceed his own standards but never, left to himself, can he attain to God’s standard of righteousness.’
And that’s gospel truth people! However my fellow believers, please listen carefully to what our wonderful God has done for us nuh. ‘Being justified freely (without any cost) by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.’ (Rom.3:24)
Now doesn’t that just make your hearts sing with joy my brethren? It surely ought to. And after listening to how the scholars explain it, I surely hope it does.
‘3:24. Being justified (Gr. dikaioumenoi) indicates being declared righteous. It signifies the believer’s judicial standing before God. Freely: There is no just cause in man to warrant justification. By his grace: Unmerited favour is bestowed through the redemption (release on payment of ransom). Christ’s death is the ransom. The sinner is released on the basis of the ransom having being paid.’
Yes Friends, we only have that marvellous, soul-saving opportunity to be set free from sin, because of the monumental ransom that Jesus paid. Without Jesus’ sacrificial gift of His sinless life, we would have been held in bondage to sin forever, with absolutely NO hope of escape.
But thanks to Jesus’ selflessness, we now have that opportunity to tell the lying, deceitful Lucifer, ‘Bye bye,’ and instead move on to live with Jesus through salvation, in eternal life. What a glorious God we serve and worship! Let’s keep that first and foremost in out thoughts please my fellow believers.
And all God’s people gave a mighty shout of ‘Thank You heavenly Father for sending Jesus to die for us. And thank You Jesus for being obedient to the Father even unto death, when You didn’t have to. We praise and glorify Your Holy Name and bow to You as our Lord and Saviour. Amen!’
Much much LOVE, my fellow believers in Christ!
…only the true Creator of the universe…could have done what He did…to save our sinful souls…
25 Nov 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: anger, bombarded, Bruh David, buffeted, busy lives, chasten, chastisement, chosen people, death, displeasure, divine action, enthusiasm, everlasting wings, evildoers, faith, falter, friends, fury, gates of righteousness, Gentiles, glorious kingdom, heathen, heavenly hosts, hidden secrets, hinders communication, holy spirit, hope, hot displeasure, humble servants, hypocrisy, invincible, Israel, Jesus Christ, jobs, judgement, justice, lies, LOVE, mental strain, mercy, Monday Morniing Battle Hymn, motives, Oh Lord God Almighty, pleas, Praise the Lord, pretence, pretext, protection, radiant countenance, rebuke, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, righteousness., salvation, steadfast faith, surrender, taunts, thanksgiving, the works of the Lord, trust, truth, understanding, ungodly world, useful purpose, wisdom, wrath
Psalm 38:1. O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
And as that contentious day, Monday, dawned around the world, the rich voices of God’s people could be heard joyfully declaring: ‘TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday! Time to go back out amongst the evildoers and fight for Jesus!’
Ah mih Friends, I’m working here on the supposition that if we hear it often it enough, it will eventually sink into our souls through osmosis or some other divine action, (smile) and we’ll eventually come to believe it and act accordingly. For there’s nothing greater than hope in this life.
And now that I’ve woken up to the true reality of the situation, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with much gusto. As one great voice 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!’
Great singing Friends! It sounded so heartfelt that all the heavenly hosts joined us. Now that certainly says something positive about our singing and the state of our hearts. Anyway, as you can see, we’re back with the same Bit as yesterday: ‘O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.’
That’s because yesterday I was guided to go through the whole psalm, when I had planned to quote some scriptures dealing with heartfelt pleas, healing and chastening. Well today we’re going to do that.
And to start us of, we’ll turn to the first verse of Psalm 6, A Prayer for mercy, where Bruh David opens thus: ‘O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.’ (Ps.6:1)
You’ll notice Friends that it’s almost exactly the same as our Bit, except instead of using ‘thy wrath, he uses ‘thine anger.’ But they convey the same meaning. So it seems that there were times when Bruh David felt that he deserved rebuke and pleads with God not to make it too harsh.
And I believe that consciousness of wrong doing, as well as his forthrightness to lay all his cards on the table before the Lord, without pretext or pretence, is what so endeared him to his Creator. There wasn’t the hypocrisy and such in his crying out that’s so prevalent today. Too many of us cry out to God for help, but with the wrong motives, or with hidden secrets, foolishly submerged, as though the Lord can’t see them.
That’s why we so often don’t receive any answers to our pleas. The important thing my brethren, is that when we cry out to God for help, we must come clean with Him, don’t hold back anything, because that hinders communication with our Maker.
Now the next scripture I want to draw to our attention comes from Psalm 118; Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Salvation. The psalmist boldly proclaims: ‘The right hand of the Lord is exalted: the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord. The Lord hath chastened me sore (severely): but he hath not given me over unto death. Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord.’ (Ps.118:16-19)
Yes Friends, let’s be extremely thankful that our Lord’s nature is to have mercy, otherwise most of us would exit this life much sooner than we planned. And note too the psalmist’s reaction to God’s mercy; a greater awareness and dedication to righteousness and praise.
And we’ll end with this quote from the prophet Jeremiah, as he soulfully declares: ‘O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. O Lord, correct me, but with judgement (justice); not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing. Pour out thy fury upon the heathen (Gentiles) that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob (Israel), and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.’ (Jer.10:23-25)
Ah mih people Jeremiah was surely giving it all he had, for He knew the intensity of God’s wrath if it ever fell completely upon His chosen people Israel. As the scholar’s put it: ’10:24-25. Jeremiah surrenders to God’s program of judgement but asks that the necessary chastisement not be carried out severely (cf. 46:28; Hab.3:2).’
And so should we likewise surrender my people, with the sincere aim of coming up higher in His estimation, so there won’t be as much chastening. Till tomorrow then, when, provided the Lord’s in favour, we’ll continue this topic, because I have more scriptures to share, but in the interest of our mental strain and busy lives, I won’t share them all today. (smile)
So till we meet again, may the Lord bless us and keep us safely under the protection of His everlasting wings, cause His radiant countenance to shine upon us, give us His wonderful peace, wisdom and understanding, for therein lies our reason to be. Much LOVE!
…when we falter…we should not be surprised by God’s chastening…
18 Nov 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abraham, Abraham and Sarah, aura of love, bombarded, bounden duty, buffetted, Christians, Christophany, confidence, conquerors, Creator of the universe, don't worry, enemy's ranks, enthusiasm, evil, fight a good fight, further God's glorious kingdom, God is in control, groovy riddim, high heaven, Holy Name, holy spirit, humble servants, incarnation, inroads, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joyful day, let God be God, lies, lord god almighty, memorable occasion, Monday Battle Hymn, never fear, Oh Lord God Almighty, praise, prayer, promises, renewed vitality, Sarah, saviour, spiritual armour, surrender, taunts, TGIM, Thank God is Monday., thanksgiving, the joy of the Lord, time of life, truth, turn the tide, ungodly world, useful purpose, weary souls, week of work, wiles, wisdom, Yahweh
Genesis 18:10. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
Aye mih Friends, is Monday morning! Wow! And all God’s people are joyously singing, ‘TGIM! Thank God is Monday! TGIM! Thank God is Monday! What a joyful day!’
Yes my people, it is Monday, and it is indeed a joyful day! In fact every day we open our eyes in God’s beautiful universe ought to be a joyful day, for it’s in the joy of the Lord that our strength lies. (Neh.8:10)
And I know that some of us still have that bad Monday morning attitude – blue and miserable and tired – an ungodly attitude which sadly permeates our modern world, and consequently drags it down. But don’t worry my brethren, never fear, our great God is in control, and slowly but surely He will turn the tide in our favour.
Anyway, to help us get with it this mid-November morning, let’s joyfully sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. As one now, let’s allow our beautiful voices to soar in prayer, praise and thanksgiving to the high heaven.
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour.
We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh mih people, that was magnificent! All heaven was accompanying us, Jesus was rocking, and the Father was tapping His feet in time to the groovy riddim! And since the Lord has granted all our requests – His Spirit is now moving and grooving in us – let’s then go out and do what we have promised, do our bounden duty, fight a good fight in Jesus’ name.
And speaking of promises, listen to this awesome one from our Bit, made, or rather reiterated by our God to Abraham, when the three angels visited him. (Gen.18:1-9) ‘And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.’
And why should we consider that such an awesome promise? We’ll let the Good Book explain. ‘Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of woman (Sarah had passed child-bearing age). Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed (grown) old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.’ (Gen.18:11-15)
Oh Friends, what a moving bit of Scripture! Now here’s what the scholars have to say, re that most memorable occasion. ’18:1-15. The three men who appeared to Abraham were the preincarnate Christ (Yahweh) and two angels (v.22; 19:1) Here we find an example, not only of “entertaining angels unawares” (Heb.13:2), but also of God becoming the guest of one of His saints (cf. John 14:23; Rev.3:20).
Sarah laughed within herself either because she did not know of the promise of 17:19 or because she was unconvinced it would be fulfilled. In either case, one of the three men was now clearly identified as Yahweh, who knew Sarah’s thoughts.’
Now some of you might find all that somewhat controversial, but if you’ll notice vs.13 says; ‘And the Lord,’ and vs.14 continues that trend: ‘Is there anything too hard for the Lord?’ And in vs.15, it shows that the man speaking, must have read Sara’s thoughts, since she had not laughed aloud. Do angels read minds? I don’t know.
But to get a little deeper on that topic, let’s go back to some notes the scholars have on Chapter 16, when the angel speaks to Hagar at the well after she ran away from Sarai.
’16:7. In the Old Testament, and angel identified as the “angel of the Lord” (v.7), the “angel of God” (21:17), the “angel of his presence” (Is.63:9), and the “messenger of the covenant” (Mal.3:1) appeared to individuals. A closer look at the context of His appearances reveals that He is more than another angel. He is God. The expression usually signifies a preincarnate appearance of Christ, and is sometimes called a “Christophany,” meaning the visible and bodily manifestation of God the Son before His incarnation.
Illustration: That He is not merely another angel is evident in those appearances where He is called God. This was recognized by Hagar (v.13), Abraham (22:14), Moses (Ex.3:14), Gideon (Judg. 6:22), and Manoah (Judg.13:18, 22). The expression is also used of men, but on such occasions is translated “the Lord’s messenger” (Hag. 1:13).
Application: The Angel of the Lord no longer appears to men today, since God has commissioned Christians to be His messengers to the world. (First Ref. and Primary Ref; Gen.6:17.)’
And there we have it Friends; the argument for “Christophany.” But before we make any decisions, for or against it, please let’s check out all the references.
Now we’ll end today with a little Christian ditty that I hear every so often on the radio. I heard it last night and it just seemed so appropriate for today’s ending.
A young lady is singing quietly, but with feeling: ‘If God be for you, who can be against you? Let God be God. Let God be God, in your life.’
And that my fellow believers is divine truth and wisdom. So let’s ponder and digest what we’ve read today, then simply let God be God in our lives. That’s the way He desires it. Much LOVE!
…we can’t be really in tune with God…unless and until we truly surrender our lives to Him…thereby giving Him full control…
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