10 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's voice is known by multitude of words, a man's word is his honour, all the days of his life, ambassadors for Christ, anxiety, ascended to high heaven, backsliders, barren woman, barter with God, be better witnesses for Christ, be not rash with thy mouth, be resposible, better is it that thou shouldest not vow, Bible, bitterness of soul, break our oaths, broken with impunity, burn out, character, chores, christianity, Christians, confusion, contracts, covenants, crying out for your help, deceitful, deceitful world, defer not to pay it, disciples of Jesus, discontent, dissatisfaction, divine aid, error of their ways, faith, fellowship, forget our part of the bargain, fraudulent, Friday chant, give me a man child, go our merry way rejoicing, God hath no pleasure in fools, God is in heaven, God pulls us out, Hannah, high esteem, holy, holy spirit, housework, I will give him unto the Lord, in olden times, integrity, Jesus Christ, lack of cooperation, let not thine heart be hasty, let thy words be few, LOVE, mercy, new flock of believers, no razor shall come upon his head, not held sacred, omnipotent help, our Number One Job, our sinful world, partying, pay that which thou hast vowed, prayed tearfully, problems are escalating, promises, promises are made to be broken, promises should be unbreakable, sacrosanct, salvation, Samuel's mother, simmering unrest, sindul behaviour, stand strong and steadfast, stay safe, sullies our reputation, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, than thou shouldest vow and not pay, the example we faithful believers set, the fiery furnace, the priest Eli, the throne of grace, thou upon the earth, to utter anything before God, took him under his wing, totally binding, truth, ungodly generation, ungodly times, vows, wake up and smell the coffee, wept in anguish, when thou vowest a vow unto God, wisdom, wise guidance
Ecclesiastes 5:5. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than thou shouldest vow and not pay.
So friends, Friday’s here at last, and numerous shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ have already ascended to high heaven. And it’s good to have the weekend come around, but please, let’s remember to not use it just for partying and idle, sinful behaviour, but for the purposes that it was granted; that’s rest, relaxation and fellowship with other believers in Christ Jesus! And that’s because we need to have our minds, souls, bodies, and faith renewed and refreshed so that we can go back into the world the following week and once again work diligently for Christ.
Now, I know that many of us have lots of housework to do, chores that couldn’t be done during the work week, but please don’t let the weekend be all about housework, make time to get in a reasonable amount of those renewing and refreshing factors of life. (smile) That way, we will escape burn out from too much work and worry, and continue being useful ambassadors and disciples of Jesus, which is our Number One Job.
And today we’ll talk about vows, promises, covenants, contracts, things that today are not held sacred, but are broken with impunity, helped by the lax law of the land. In olden times a vow, promise, contract or covenant was totally binding, but in this deceitful, fraudulent and ungodly generation those things are not held in high esteem and agreements are disregarded without much thought or fear. A man’s word is no longer his honour. We seem to believe the saying; promises are made to be broken.
But friends, breaking a promise or contract is one of the worst things we can ever do, for it sullies our reputation, while damaging our integrity and our character. Our word will no longer be trusted by others, and we will suffer judgement and lack of cooperation by those we desire to work with. So, it’s not wise to break our oaths without very good cause, especially one made to God. Yuh know how we like to barter with God, especially when we find ourselves in tough situations, with words like: ‘Oh God, if you will only do this or that for me, I will do this or that in return.’ And when the Lord pulls us out of the fiery furnace, we forget all about our part of the bargain, and just go our merry way rejoicing.
Now that won’t wash with God, for He doesn’t like people who don’t keep their promises. We need to be people of integrity, especially with God. People like Hannah, the prophet Samuel’s mother. Remember how she was barren for a long time and prayed tearfully to the Lord to have a son. The scripture tells it thus: ‘And she (Hannah) was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore (in anguish). And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then will I give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.’ (1 Sam. 1:10-11)
And we know that the Lord heard Hannah’s prayer, and did indeed bless her with a man child, whom she named Samuel (heard by God), and when he was probably about three years old she took him to the temple in Shiloh and presented him to the priest Eli, who took him under his wing and taught him about the Lord and the workings of His service. Now that’s what meant by keeping your word, your vow.
And, as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes, Cousin Sol issues a very strong warning on the subject. He writes: ‘Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven and thou upon the earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business (effort, activity); and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer (delay) not to pay it: for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than thou shouldest vow and not pay.’ (Eccl. 5:2-5)
Oh my fellow believers we cannot get any better advice than that. And please, let’s also do it in all our communications with man, not just with God. That’s the only way we will bring some integrity back into our forlorn and deceitful world. And I like how the scholars explain it. ‘The emphasis of the passage is on the folly of an empty religious profession before a sovereign God: God is in heaven, and thou upon the earth. God expects sincerity and meaningfulness in worship; He is not impressed with foolish vows.’
Oh, how I wish that many of us could understand that and stop trying to barter with God. Cousin Sol tells it thus in Proverbs. ‘It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy (to devote rashly something as holy, consecrated), and after vows to make enquiry (reconsiders his vows).’ (Prov. 20:25) Yes friends, let’s not speak too quickly, or too much, for it will only get us in serious trouble, both with God and man. So now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid to help in these troubled and trying 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 not forget, that for divine aid to be doled out to us, we need to become better, more faithful witnesses for Christ! Much LOVE!
…promises…both to God and man…should be held inviolable…unbreakable…sacrosanct…holy…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
18 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a rejuvenated mind set, alive, ambassadors, baptizing, bring glad tidings of good things, bubbling, buoyed our spirits, calling upon the Lord, captivity, celebrations, Christ's Resurrection, cleansing, communication tools, crucial times, Easter, eternal life, expectant faith, feasts, followers of Jesus, forgiveness, friend jesus, from glory to glory, God reigns, God's majesty, good news, gospel truth, harvest, healing, hear without a preacher, how beautiful are the feet, hungry hope, in the name of the Father, Isaiah, labouring, make disciples of all nations, maturity, mercy, Nahum, observe all things, Old Testament, on the cross, peace, put our best foot forward, reapers, reconciliation, reignited the flame of love, salvation, saving grace, selflessly sacrificed, service, share His love, share it, sinless life, spiritual witness, spiritual work, teach, the beloved of God, the Easter season, the end times, the glory ladder, the gospel of peace, the Holy Ghost, the SON, the stairway of maturity, them who preach, Tuesday Mantra, unbelievers, vows, worker bees, worldly occupations, Zion
Romans 10:15b. How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
And then it was Tuesday; Easter Tuesday, a day of work for most! Yeh friends, the over the top celebrations finish now, and it’s time to get back to some serious labouring, both in our worldly occupations and also our spiritual work for Jesus.
Hopefully the Easter festivities, especially Christ’s resurrection, has buoyed our spirits, reignited the flame of LOVE and service in our hearts, thus giving us a rejuvenated mind set, moving us up a notch on the stairway of maturity.
Oh my people, my people, it’s at crucial times like these where we need to improve our spiritual witness, and move up the glory ladder; from glory to glory, where we’re once more alive and bubbling with hungry hope and expectant faith in Jesus!
The end times are drawing ever closer my brethren, but the harvest is still plentiful, there’s yet much to be reaped, and since we are the reapers, we need to be strong and enthusiastic so that we can put our best foot forward for Christ.
Remember we are Christ’s ambassadors, His worker bees here on earth, and He’s expecting us to bring as many people as possible – in fact ALL people to His saving grace.
That’s what the Easter season is about; why He selflessly sacrificed His sinless life on the cross; so that whosoever will may come and receive His cleansing and healing and new way of life, which includes salvation, reconciliation and eternal life with the Father and Himself.
Now how precious is that eh? But friends, how can the unbelievers get this wonderful news unless someone shares it with them eh?
And we are that someone! It’s our responsibility to share the wonderful and free saving grace, mercy, and forgiveness of Christ to all and sundry. ‘So that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ (Rom.10:13)
Yes my fellow believers, as Bruh Paul reminds the Romans, using the words found in Joel 2:32, salvation comes from calling upon the Lord for His saving grace.
But then, as he further queries the Romans: ‘How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?’ (Rom.10:14-15a)
And that’s all very pertinent stuff my people. How can unbelievers be saved if they don’t hear the gospel? And they can only hear it if someone shares it with them.
That brings us to our Bit. ‘How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!’
Oh friends that’s such a touching bit of scripture! And it’s also indisputable, gospel truth!
For there is nothing as wonderful as believers obeying Jesus’ last command to His disciples: ‘Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples) of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always(s), even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
Now that’s our basic job as followers of Jesus. And you’ll notice at the end that Jesus even assured us that He’d be always with us wherever and whenever we’re spreading His word.
Unfortunately though my faithful brethren, we’re not doing it as well, as purposefully and diligently as we ought to. Why, I really can’t say. It might be through fear of repercussions from this evil world in which we dwell. Or it might just be simple laziness and sloth, or us being more concerned about living a comfortable earthly life than laying up rewards in heaven.
But friends, whatever the reason or reasons might be, if we aren’t helping to spread the good news of Jesus gospel in some form and fashion, then we’re not being good ambassadors of His.
It’s as plain and simple as that. And in these times of quick and far reaching communication tools, there is really no good excuse for any of us to not participate in the spreading of the gospel.
Now let’s look at the two Old Testament Scriptures from which Bruh Paul fashioned our Bit. The first comes from Isaiah, as he promises that the Lord will deliver His people Zion from captivity.
‘How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings (good news), that publisheth (proclaims) peace; that bringeth good tidings (good news) of good (good things), that publisheth (proclaims) salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!’ (Is.52:7)
And the second piece of scripture comes from the prophet Nahum, as he proclaims God’s majesty in mercy and judgement. ‘Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings (news), that publisheth (proclaims) peace!
Oh Judah, keep thy solemn (sacred, appointed) feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked (one of Belial, or worthless one) shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.’ (Nah.1:15)
And there you have it friends, the sources of our Bit. (smile) Now let’s go home sincerely declaring our Tuesday Mantra.
‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
So if we believe it, then let’s go out and do it as we ought to nuh! Much LOVE!
…only as we spread the gospel of Jesus…will the world be saved…
12 Feb 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: All Creatures of our God and King, all things their Creator bless, Alleluia, be thankful unto him, bless His name, blessings, breath of life, burning sun, burnt offerings, cast your care, Christ our Lord, clouds that sail in heaven along, day of the lord, enter into his gates with thanksgiving, exaltation, face the music, faith, find a voice, fire so masterful and bright, flowers and fruits, flowing water, forgiving others, gather in the sanctuary, givest man both warmth and light, glory, golden beam, grace, guidance, his mercy is everlasting, his truth endureth to all generations, in humbleness, in Jesus' name, in praise rejoice, into his courts with praise, lift up your voice, lights of evening, LOVE Revolution, make music for thy Lord to hear, mano a mano, men of tender heart, mercy, Mother Earth, my mouth have spoken, pain and sorrow bear, praise God, praise him, rejoice, rising moon, rushing wind, sacrifices of praise, sad state of affairs, Selah, silver moon, softer gleam, Son, step up to the plate, strength, Sunday, that art so strong, the child of God, the fat of rams, the Father, the great works of God, The Lord is good, the spirit, the way hath trod, Three in one, through fire and water, truth, victorious, vows, walk of faith, worship Him
Psalm 100:4. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Well friends, another Day of the Lord, Sunday, is upon us, which means it’s time to gather in the sanctuary, even though the snow is falling, (smile) and rejoice and give thanks and praise for the past week, and ask for blessings and guidance and strength for the one to come.
So let’s offer up some sacrifices of praise with our lips to our heavenly Father nuh, let Him know that we truly appreciate his wonderful grace and mercy bestowed anew, each and every day. Let’s raise our voices high by singing this favourite hymn, ‘All Creatures of our God and King.’
In perfect harmony now: ‘All creatures of our God and King Lift up your voice and with us sing, Alleluia! Alleluia! Thou burning sun with golden beam, Thou silver moon with softer gleam! (Refrain)
(O praise Him! O praise Him! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!) Thou rushing wind that art so strong Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice, Ye lights of evening, find a voice! (Refrain:)
Thou flowing water, pure and clear, Make music for thy Lord to hear, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou fire so masterful and bright, That givest man both warmth and light. (Refrain)
Dear mother earth, who day by day Unfoldest blessings on our way, O praise Him! Alleluia! The flowers and fruits that in thee grow, Let them His glory also show. (Refrain)
And all ye men of tender heart, Forgiving others, take your part, O sing ye! Alleluia! Ye who long pain and sorrow bear, Praise God and on Him cast your care! (Refrain)
And thou most kind and gentle Death, Waiting to hush our latest breath, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou leadest home the child of God, And Christ our Lord the way hath trod. (Refrain)
Let all things their Creator bless, And worship Him in humbleness, O praise Him! Alleluia! Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, And praise the Spirit, Three in One! (Refrain) O praise Him! O praise Him! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!’
Oh my fellow believers that was wonderful! And that’s exactly what ought to go on on ALL the earth, ALL the time – God’s creations giving Him thanks and praise for His everlasting goodness and mercy!
And that segues very smoothly into our Bit for today. ‘Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.’
And why should we do that eh? ‘For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.’ (Ps.110:5)
Ah mih people, we couldn’t want a better reason than that to give our omnipotent, omniscient, omni-present, magnanimous and magnificent God praise and thanks!
Unfortunately though, most of the world today has either forgotten, never known, or don’t want to know His heavenly Majesty, their Creator, Provider, and the One who causes them to open their eyes each morning and breathe His breath of life. What a sad state of affairs!
But we believers will stand up and face the music, give Him His due deserts of exaltation and glory! We will fight the enemy, mano-a mano, and we will be victorious, in Jesus’ Name!
How can we not be victorious if Jesus is fighting with us eh? For as the Good Book assures us: ‘What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?’ (Rom.8:31)
And the overwhelming answer to that my people is ‘NOBODY!’ For NOBODY can stand against our triumphant God!
Now listen to the psalmist from Psalm 66, as he declares the great works of our mighty God, and corroborates our Bit. ‘Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy (an abundant) place.
I will go into thy house, with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows (promised deeds), Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams: I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.’ (Ps.66:12-16)
Yes friends, those verses should be familiar as we read them recently when talking about keeping promises. Today though we look at them in the light of giving God thanks and praise for His succour in times of trouble. That’s the beauty of His Word: the same stuff can be used for different aspects of life!
Now let’s take a moment, as the psalmist suggested, and ponder all that we’ve said today, and see how it reflects in our personal lives, and vow, yes vow, to improve them, for it’s only in that way can we ever truly improve our walk of faith. Much LOVE!
…believers must step up to the plate…if Jesus’ LOVE Revolution is to be victorious…
04 Aug 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool's wisdom, a shout of praise, a sovereign God, almighty god, an empty religious profession, arrogant, beautiful summer's day, benefit, blessings, but fear thou God, Caribana Monday, celebration, communication with our heavenly Father, count the apples in a seed, count the seeds in an apple, Cousin Sol, created the heavens and the earth, every secret thing, evil, family thing, fear God, fear the Lord thy God, fertile idea, festivities, foresight, futility abounds, give God a shout of praise, glorify God, glory to God, God makes a way for us, God provides for our every need, God shall bring every work into judgement, good, Gramps Schuller, humble obedience, in the multitude of dreams and many words, judgement, keep his commandments, keep the commandments of the Lord, LOVE, Love the Lord thy God, loving kindness, meaningfulness, mercies, Micah, Moses, our lifeline to God, pilgrim's journey, proud, reconciled, rocket science, salvation, sincere prayer, stubborn, the BIBLE, the children of Israel, the conclusion of the whole matter, the Good Book, the Guidebook of Life, the party's over, the Preacher, the ups and downs of life, the whys and wherefores of life, time to call it a day, to do justly, to love mercy, treasure in heaven, truth, unconditional LOVE, unlimited possibilities, vows, walk humbly with God, walk the straight and narrow path, welfare, what doth the Lord require of thee, when there seems to be no way, wisdom, wise words, worship
Ecclesiastes 5:7. For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities (futility abounds): but fear thou God.
Ah Friends, it was Caribana Monday, so the ole fella had to celebrate, which meant a late night – early morning scenario! Well it wasn’t any real celebration, just doing my family thing a little later than usual.
Anyway, Caribana Monday did turn out to be a beautiful summer’s day after all! Glory to God! That means most of the festivities planned for the day were able to go ahead and the day wasn’t spoiled for the many out of town visitors and our residents who look forward so much to the weekend, and the Monday holiday in particular.
However, as the song says, ‘The party’s over my friends, time to call it a day,’ time to get up and go out and labour on this fine Tuesday morning that has been specially prepared for us with many new blessings, and mercies. Give God a shout of praise and thanks for His wonderful goodness to us undeserving children of men!
And all God’s children loudly declared: ‘All praise and glory to our great and wonderful God who makes a way for us when there seems to be no way, and who provides for our every need, when we come before Him in humble obedience! Amen.’
Now here’s a li’l something from Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional. He calls it ‘POSSIBILITIES UNLIMITED.’
And it goes like this: ‘I can count the seeds in an apple. But, Lord – you alone can count the apples in one seed! Some things are impossible, Lord! It’s impossible for me to see immeasurable, unlimited possibilities in one fertile idea. Praise the Lord. Amen.’
And that’s solid truth my people. We can see the small, finite stuff, but only Almighty God who created the heavens and earth, in His great wisdom and foresight, can see the unlimited possibilities in any given idea. Glory to God!
Consequently, we need to come before Him in sincere prayer and humble obedience for Him to point out the numerous possibilities in each fertile idea with which He has blessed us.
Oh, we can possibly envision a few in our own strength, but to get the real gist and gumption, (smile) of what He desires of us, we have to have serious communication with our heavenly Father.
In all of that though Friends, we still need to consider the wise words of our Bit. ‘For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities (futility abounds): but fear thou God.’ Everlasting truth that my people!
And the scholars explain this section about hasty vows thus. ‘5:1-7. The emphasis on the passage is on the folly of an empty religious profession before a sovereign God: God is in heaven, and thou upon earth. God expects sincerity and meaningfulness in worship. He is not impressed with foolish vows…’
And believe me Friends, we do make a lot of foolish vows to God, especially when we are caught up in the heat of a moment’s anguish and concern. But long, long ago, Moses exhorted the children of Israel with the Lord’s desires.
‘And now Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to LOVE him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul. To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day, for thy good (benefit or welfare)?’ (Deut.10:12-13)
Yes my brethren, we need to ALWAYS remember that whatever our God commands, in the long run is for OUR benefit and welfare, not for His. I think we often lose sight of that most important fact, and thus murmur and complain unnecessarily when He asks us to do certain things.
Please remember that the Good Book is OUR lifeline to God, our guidebook, so that we can walk the straight and narrow path and eventually come to the throne of the Most High, reconciled and headed for salvation throughout eternity.
In His great and unconditional LOVE for us, He designed it so that we could find answers to whatever questions we might have down here on this frail and fallible earth. And many of us have problems we can’t solve because we don’t, we simply refuse to read that awesome Guidebook of Life!
But how can we know what God desires of us eh friends, if we don’t read His Word eh? We simply can’t. That’s why so much emphasis is placed on personal reading of the Bible. But as usual, too many of us are too proud, stubborn and arrogant to read it, preferring to decipher the whys and wherefores of life in our own strength.
However my people, that is undoubtedly a fool’s wisdom. What better way could there be to understand the ups and downs of life than through the words of the One who created life in the first place eh? None whatsoever!
And these words of Micah from times bygone, aptly paraphrase what the Lord expects of us. ‘He hath showed thee, O Man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to LOVE mercy (LOVING-kindness), and to walk humbly with thy God?’ (Mic.6:8)
Yes Friends, it’s that simple; not rocket science or any other great mind exercise; do good and righteous deeds and walk in humble obedience before Him.
What’s so difficult to understand about that eh? It might not be always easy to put into action, but we do need to understand what is required of us before we can consider doing it. And I believe that’s where many of us fall down; we simply don’t understand, or refuse to understand God’s requirements for this pilgrim’s journey called earthly life.
And we’ll give the last word to Cousin Sol in his capacity as the Preacher. ‘Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’ (Eccl.12:13-14)
That says it all Friends! So please, let’s be wise nuh, and go out and do just that, so that we may glorify our Great God and lay up storehouses of treasures in heaven for us to enjoy at a later date. That is true and simple wisdom. Much LOVE!
……be not hasty…consider thy words and thy works…before a just, holy and righteous God…
P.S. Would you believe that just when I was ready to send out the already late Bit, my trusty sidekick, my desktop computer froze on me, and I had to reboot it? Ah Lord eh! The trials and tribulations we have to endure in this life eh! (smile) Much LOVE!
28 Jan 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: after one time is two, against our neightbours, attributes, backbiting, betterment of mankind, biblically speaking, blessing from God, bounden duty, Bruh David, busyness of life, Canada, character, Christ-like character, Christian, clean hands, condemn, control tongues, corruption. unfaithfulness, daily constitutional, deceit, disgusting weather, eradicate, evil, false rumours, fiery splendour, follower of Christ, food place, fraud, good character, gospel truth, greed, grocery, headache, hearts, heavenly wisdom, holy hill, holy tabernacle, honour, idols, innocent, Jesus, keep people apart. long periods of time, king of glory, lift up soul, Lord, LOVE, make memories, make up, memories, necessary improvements, negative things, never something that you had, North country, old friend, pardners, personal integrity, pride, promises, proper example, pure heart, qualifications, reminisce, reminiscences, responsibility, reverence, righteousness., room for improvement, rule the roost, salvation, selfishness, sojourn, speak truth, sufficient time, swearing, thanks, the world in shambles, to serve the Lord, Tobago, unchristian activity, unrighteous, usury, vacation, vanity, visited, vows, walk uprightly, wind and rain, winding down, worthy
Psalm 15:1. Lord who shall abide (sojourn) in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
And then Friends, it was Tuesday! Unfortunately, the vacation time is winding down. But not to worry, for there’s yet sufficient time to get in whole lot more activities and make many more memories, so that when I’m sitting in my rocking chair in the cold North Country, I can just reminisce and chuckle at the reminiscences.
And that’s what life really is all about yes people; making good memories. For when old age arrives and you physically can’t do much of anything, all you will have then are memories of the way your life was spent. Therefore it’s very important that we make as many good ones as possible.
For as the Johnny Bristol sings in his song of some years ago: ‘Memories don’t leave like people do. They always stay with you. Whether they been good or bad. They’re never something that you had.’
Gospel truth my brethren! Memories never leave us. When all else fails, memories will still be there. So let’s try and make as many good ones as possible nuh. Now let’s see what good ones I made yesterday. (smile)
Oh, in the early morning hours, some wicked wind and rain lashed my little area – twice to be exact. And what amused me was that in between each episode, the sun came out in all its fiery splendour. Also, around lunch time some friends from Canada came to visit. They are only here for about three days.
Then in the afternoon, I went down to Store Bay for my daily constitutional. I believe the last time I mentioned that, I said testimonial, but it was really constitutional I meant. And that’s simply something good that you do for yourself on a fairly regular basis.
But lo and behold, as I entered the change room at Store Bay, I saw a man sitting there buckling the straps on his sandals. His face seemed familiar, but his cap was hiding the upper portion of his face. So I looked closer at him, only to realize that it was another old friend from Canada, one whom I hadn’t seen in ages, although we don’t live far from each other in the North Country.
But the busyness of life and the disgusting weather often keep people apart for long periods of time. You might talk to them regularly on the phone but hardly ever see them.
Anyway, as the Lord would have it, his wife, daughter and himself were just finished bathing and were planning to drop in on us on their way home. So we just visited right there, since they were only in Tobago for the day.
Nothing much happened after that. I got my dip, said some thanks to a couple of people who had been instrumental in safely securing my bag last week, stopped in the grocery and a food place, then came home and relaxed as best I could with the stupid headache still bothering me.
A couple pardners dropped by for a short visit later in the evening. But other than that it was quiet, had an early night because of the headache, which unfortunately is still bugging me some, almost two days later. I guess though, as the old people would say; after one time is two, since I hardly ever have headaches, especially ones of this magnitude and length.
But for whatever purpose the Lord’s allowing it, I just have to get a grip and keep on doing what I have to, knowing that eventually He will make all things right. And those are the good memories I made yesterday. (smile)
Now let’s see what the Lord wants me to write on biblically speaking, today? And Friends it seems like He wants us to focus today on the important question of: ‘Lord who shall abide (sojourn) in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?’
Yes my fellow believers, that’s an interesting and also very important question! Who is worthy to serve in the Lord’s tabernacle, what are the qualifications necessary for that awesome job?
And Bruh David answers the question he just posed in the following two verses. ‘He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up (receives) a reproach against his neighbour.’ (Ps.15:2-3)
Oh Friends, that means that the person who serves in the tabernacle must have personal purity. But all those things also pertain to the ordinary Christian. EVERY follower of Christ needs to walk uprightly, work righteousness and speak truth from their hearts. It’s all a part of the Christian make up and character. Neither can we be spreading deceit and false rumours with our wicked, hard to control tongues, or doing evil against our neighbours.
As Bruh David also asks in Psalm 24, the King of glory: ‘Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? (Ps.24:3)
And his answer is basically the same: ‘He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity (to an idol), nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.’ (Ps.24:4-5)
Unfortunately though mih breddren, those characteristics are in very short supply these days, even amongst supposed believers! That serious drop in moral standards and otherwise, are why our world is now such a troubled, evil, disaster-prone and calamitous place.
The attributes of good character and personal integrity have sadly lost their position of high standing and importance. They are no longer considered necessary aspects of human life. These days fraud, corruption, deceit, unfaithfulness, selfishness, pride and greed rule the roost.
And it’s sad that many of us believers dabble too much in such unchristian activity, instead of being the ones to uphold the Christ-like character and integrity. That brings us back to Psalm 15, where Bruh David continues his discourse on the qualifications for working in the Lord’s sanctuary.
One ‘In whose eyes a vile person is contemned (despised); but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.’ (Ps.15:4-5)
Yes my people, those are all qualifications that the ordinary but serious believer also needs to possess. We ought not to uphold the works of the unrighteous, but remember they are also God’s creation. And furthermore, at times we also behave unrighteous, and we surely don’t want others to despise or condemn us then.
We need to honour those who reverence God, and promises and vows should be taken seriously, neither should we take advantage of the already disadvantaged. But unfortunately all the negative aspects of those things are rampant in our troubled, misguided world. Like the constant and severe oppression and suppression of the poor and needy and the insatiable greed of the wealthy.
Oh my brethren, those things should not be happening on such a large scale. And it is our responsibility, the responsibility of the true and serious believer, first to eradicate those negative things from our own lives, set a proper example, then try and eradicate them from our immediate circle and surroundings, then keep moving up to the higher levels of our society, and finally the world.
That’s our bounden duty Friends, for nobody else has any real and serious interest in the overall betterment of mankind, which is what Jesus came to do, and what His followers ought to be doing!
Therefore, please let’s ponder our individual situations today, re the things we’ve talked about, then, with the Lord’s help obviously, try to make the necessary improvements. And even for those who are already fairly decent, there is always room for improvement.
Let’s make Jesus proud of us nuh, by living the kind of life He desires of His followers. That’s heavenly wisdom my people! Much LOVE!
…until believers improve their own performance…the unbelievers will rule…and the world will remain in shambles…
23 May 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fools is known by plenty words, a man's word, broken promises destroy trust, christ jesus, credibility, don't be rash with your mouth, don't make promises, don't neglect to pay promises, don't speak hastily, don't speak without thinking, faithful God, fellow believers, God has no pleasure in fools, God is faithful, gospel truth, heat of the moment, honour, litigation, make a promise to God, meaningfulness in worship, not today nuh, obeisance, promises, promises made to be broken, renege on a promise, restitution, sincereity, suffer fools gladly, sweet sleep, trust, vows
Ecclesiastes 5:4. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
Well a blessed morning to all you Friends and fellow believers in Christ Jesus! Some of you are still sleeping while I’m here toiling, (smile) but I’ll let you into a li’l secret. This was one morning where the ole fella really didn’t feel like getting up nuh. I went to bed later than planned, doing constructive stuff this time though, and as we like to say, the sleep was sweeeetttt…
When the Lord touched me and whispered, ‘Time to get up son,’ I almost told Him, ‘Forget it yes Lord, not today nuh,’ and roll back over. Hn, Hn!
But one of the worse mistakes we can ever make my brethren, is to promise the Lord to do something for Him, then renege on the promise for some flimsy reason as wanting to sleep. (smile)
So here I am writing my life away, my eyes still full of sleep, since the caffeine hasn’t yet kicked in. Hopefully it’s something sensible and informative. But I’m not worried, because as I prove day after day, our God is wonderfully faithful, and doesn’t give us a task and not help us do it.
How do you think I could be writing this Bit everyday now, into the seventh year? It’s undoubtedly with the plentiful help of our wonderful and faithful God! So here’s to a good, moving, wise and wonderful Bit. I just have to go and find a scripture to base it on now. (smile)
And have I ever found a most appropriate one my people! ‘When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer (delay) not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.’
Now that’s the gospel truth Friends! God definitely dislikes people to make promises and not keep them. And this is not something new, for way back when, He spoke thus to Moses concerning vows and promises.
‘If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond (binding himself by some agreement); he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.’ (Num.30:2)
And just before our Bit, Cousin Sol offers up another choice morsel of wisdom. ‘Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon the earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business (effort or activity); and a fools voice is known by multitude of words.’ (Eccl.5:2-3)
Oh Friends, what wisdom!
The scholars explain that, “The emphasis on the passage is on the folly of an empty religious profession before a sovereign God. God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: God expects sincerity and meaningfulness in worship. He is not impressed with foolish vows.”
And since neither our God or His Word changes, that means all those words should still be ruling our lives today. But unfortunately in today’s society that wisdom has fallen by the wayside. A man’s word is no longer honourable, for promises are only made to be later broken.
And that’s why there’s so little, if any trust in our society, why fraud and fraudulent acts are so prevalent and widespread. People can no longer be trusted to act in a decent, upstanding manner. Our courts are filled with so much litigation concerning contracts we’ve signed in good faith, then refuse to honour.
So what’s the purpose of making a promise or a vow that has no true credibility to it, or that we won’t be held accountable for eh? None whatsoever!
Followers of Jesus are expected to be faithful to their vows and promises…hn! But from some of the stuff that Christians do, you certainly wouldn’t believe that.
But Friends, be warned, that though you can make a promise to your fellow man and break it without suffering any kind of penalty, you CANNOT do that with God. He always delivers on His promises and fully expects us to deliver on ours, unless there are truly extenuating circumstances.
As our Bit says: ‘for he hath no pleasure in fools.’ Yes my brethren, our God doesn’t suffer fools gladly, just like some of us don’t. And if we, mere mortals can have that strong attitude against foolishness and foolish behaviour, you can just imagine how strong God’s resentment of it is.
As our Bit also advises: ‘pay that which thou hast vowed.’ And not only to God, but also to our fellow man.
And if we don’t want to keep promises, then the smartest thing is simply not to make them. ‘Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than thou shouldest vow and not pay.’ (Eccl.5:5)
Words of absolute truth and wisdom my fellow believers!
In this day and age we’re quick to make promises, both to God and man, especially when we’re in trouble. But after either or both have lifted us out of the mire, we completely forget the promises we made in the heat of the moment.
That’s not right, or wise, my Friends! Instead, if we do make commitments in desperate times, then we should always do our best to honour them afterwards.
We should sincerely endeavour to do like the psalmist says: ‘Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy (an abundant) place. I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows (promised deeds), which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.’ (Ps.66:12-14)
Now that’s how a true and faithful Christian ought to behave!
Just like how I couldn’t roll over and go back to sleep this morning, though the body and soul were crying out for it. Because I’ve promised the Lord to write a Bit based on His Word everyday and send it out a reasonable hour, I had to get up regardless of how I felt, and keep my promise.
Therefore Friends, I beseech each and every one of us, today, let’s all take the time to ponder our individual situations, re our vows and promises, both to God and our fellow man, and see where we’re falling down in their proper observance.
And having done that, then let’s turn to both God and man and ask for forgiveness, while making obeisance, restitution and/or whatever is necessary to pay our vows. That’s wisdom and true faith at their height. Much LOVE!
…trust takes a long time to build…but a broken promise quickly destroys that trust…
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