26 Nov 2021
by randyobrien50
in Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adoration, assurance in the purpose of God, be not therefore like unto them, be responsible and stay safe, bring backsliders back to your fold, embrace your love and compassion, Friday chant, God's method of communication, heartfelt thanks and gratitude, our sinful world, petition, pray to thy Father in secret, prayer is not man's attempt to change the will of God, prayer warriors, that they may be seen of men, the Lord's prayer, the unrest in our streets, they love to pray standing in the sysnagogues, they shall be heard for their much speaking, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites, thy Father shall reward thee openly, wake up and smell the coffee, when thou prayest, when ye pray use not vain repetitions, wise guidance and direction, your Father knoweth what things ye have need of
Matthew 6:8. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before you ask him.
What shall we say to opening our bleary eyes to a bright new shiny day eh? A simple answer like ‘Thank You Lord for allowing me to see another day. I praise You and bless your holy name,’ will do. Our wonderful God doesn’t need a whole lot of verbiage to satisfy His soul, just our heartfelt thanks and gratitude.
That’s why Jesus uttered this warning to His listeners, a warning which I believe is also very timely for us in these trying and turbulent times. He said: ‘And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites (pretenders) are: for they LOVE to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.
Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet (inner room), and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.’ (Matt. 6:5-6)
Now friends, that doesn’t mean that praying publicly is wrong, because it’s decreed in many parts of the Bible, the problem is the misuse of prayer, praying so that men can see us and believe we are so righteous and holy, when we are nothing more than a bunch of hypocrites using it for our personal glory.
And as the scholars explain: ‘The principle here is that the believer should not make a show of his prayer, nor of the answers he receives of prayer in such a way as to call unnecessary attention to himself.’ Unfortunately, many of us today, do just that; make showy attempts of prayer, so that others can see us and think we are such prayer warriors, when we are nothing of the kind.
Jesus knew the hypocrisy of the religious leaders, so He continues on the subject of prayer. ‘But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.’ (Matt. 6:7) Yes my brethren, we don’t need to babble on in our prayers, saying the same things over and over, or speaking without thinking, like some of the heathen and false prophets found in the Old Testament.
Thus, this last word from Jesus. ‘Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before you ask him.’ (Matt. 6:8). For sure! He is God, the Creator and controller of the world, who’s thoughts and ways are so much higher than ours, so He must know what we need, although He likes us to come to Him in prayer and ask, to acknowledge our submission to His will and not ours.
And the scholars offer a wonderful explanation on prayer through that verse. ‘6:8. Prayer is not man’s attempt to change the will of God. Prayer is not conquering God’s reluctance to answer, but laying hold of His willingness to help. Prayer in the life of the believer is an act of total confidence and assurance in the plan and purpose of God.
The following sample prayer is given to the disciples as an example of a suitable prayer. This prayer, often called the “Lord’s Prayer,” is in reality a disciple’s prayer. In no way does the prayer itself embody all of Christ’s teaching about prayer; and having just warned against vain repetition, he did not intend for this particular prayer to be merely recited with empty meaninglessness.’
Oh friends, we all know the prayer, and ofttimes we just mouth it without really thinking about what we’re saying. And yes, it’s good to have God in our mouths, but He should also be in our hearts and minds. And we won’t go into a line by line break down of the prayer, but be it sufficient here to know that it contains two major parts; the first is adoration, and the second is petition.
Now that’s the way most prayers, especially in the Psalms are devised. They open with thanks and praise, then they ask for their needs, and I believe that’s a healthy way for us to design our individual prayers. Don’t just jump right into what we need, unless it’s a dire emergency, but first offer up thanks, and remember what the Lord has done in the past for us, and His overall goodness in our lives, show that we appreciate His grace and mercy, before we begin asking for things.
And by the way, please make sure the things we ask for are things that are in His will for our lives, not merely our selfish wants. Now, what we’ve said above, is not the end all and be all on prayer, but hopefully, it will upgrade out thoughts on prayer and help us to pray in a more meaningful manner.
So, with that in mind (smile) let’s go to God in prayer, right now, through our Friday Chant. As one voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible.
And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways.
And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Please remember, that if we want positive answers to our prayers, we need to keep the promises we’ve just made. Much LOVE!
…Prayer…God’s method of communication with His children…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
19 Nov 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a call to faith, a means of restoring faith in you, and again I say rejoice, avoid anymore serious setbacks, be careful for nothing, be of the same mind, belittle the work we do, bring backsliders back to your fold, Covid-19 virus, embrace your love and compassion, Friday chant, given their eye-teeth, harmony among church members, in everything by prayer and supplication, keep and guard your hearts and minds, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, let your moderation beknown unto all mne, LOVE, never to leave nor forsake us, no summons to iresponsibility, our sinful world, prayer in everything, Rejoice in the Lord always, serious and unexpected storm, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the joy of the Lord is our strength, the level of our faith, the level of our joy, the Lord is at hand, The Lord is my helper, the peace of God which passeth all understading, the solution to anxiety, the unrest in our streets, wake up and smell the coffee, with thanksgiving, work everything out for our good
Philippians 4:4. Rejoice in the Lord always: and again, I say, Rejoice.
I hear you friends! I hear you calling out ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and this miserable workweek soon done!’ And yes, the workweek might have been difficult and/or frustrating, but please look on the bright side nuh, you were one of the blessed ones, you at least had a job to go to. However, in these pandemic, riotous, disastrous and dangerous times, thousands of your brethren had none to go to, and would have grabbed yours without a backward glance. Many would have given their ‘eye-teeth,’ as the old people would say to have any li’l job at all, so they could make a few dollars to feed themselves and their families
. So please, let’s not belittle the work we do, even though it may not be as soul-satisfying as we desire. Times are exceedingly hard, and instead of complaining we ought to be thankful for what little we might have, because there are so many others around the world with so much less than us, who would be exceedingly glad and thankful to have the little we claim to have.
That’s why this scripture writing of Bruh Paul to the Philippians is ever so important today. He writes: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.’ (Phil. 4:4) Yes friends, that’s the number one characteristic and attitude of believers in Christ Jesus; we are joyful in whatever situation we find ourselves. Remember that the joy of the Lord is our strength! (Neh. 8:10) That’s why the enemy tries his best to steal our joy, because he knows that without that joy, which brings strength, we are totally at his evil mercy.
And I like how the scholars explain that verse. ‘4:4. The mention of believers’ names being recorded in heaven (vs.3) causes the author to write rejoice in the Lord always. Harmony among church members, as Paul assumes will be the result of his pleas in verses 2 and 3, (to be of the same mind), is another reason to “rejoice.”
In adding and again I say, Rejoice, it is as though the apostle looks into the future, considers all possibilities of sorrow, and in spite of them all repeats “the command.” This command to rejoice at all times and in all circumstances is nothing less than a call to faith. For if the Christian believes that his life and all its circumstances are in the hands of a sovereign, wise, and LOVING God who is always working to accomplish good for him, then he can indeed “rejoice always.”
And yuh better believe my brethren that in these perilous times the command to rejoice is indeed a call to faith, since we do have a wise, sovereign and LOVING God who has promised never to leave nor forsake us and to work out everything for our good eventually. Thus, the level of our joy rests on the level of our faith, on how much we believe what our Creator says. If our faith is strong, then our joy will be forthcoming, but if our faith is weak, then we will be filled with all kinds of doubts, fears and anxieties.
That’s why Bruh Paul continues: ‘Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.’ (Phil.4:6) And the scholars tell us that ‘Moderation means “graciousness” or “sweet reasonableness.” The believer who is at peace with his fellow Christian (vs.2) and who rejoices always (vs.4) is indeed a gracious, reasonable person.
The Lord is hand means two things. First, His return to earth is near. His imminent coming as judge encourages the Christian to be “gracious” unto all men, for He will judge the believer for all of his actions toward all people, and will avenge any wrongs committed by others against him. Second, the “Lord is at hand” spiritually. The Lord’s being presently near should free the Christian from fear and anxiety. Hence the command of verse 6.’
And we all know the command of verse 6. ‘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) What a majestic and encouraging verse of scripture my people! We don’t need to be anxious for anything because we can take it all to God in sincere prayer and supplication, but with thanksgiving, letting Him know that we desperately need His help. That means thankfully laying our anxieties at His feet, assured that He can and will deal with them on our behalf. Thus, we are freed of the anxieties and worries, the doubts and frustrations of this evil and ungodly world.
Wow! No wonder we are to rejoice and be thankful! And I would be amiss if I didn’t add some of the scholars’ explanation of that verse. They say, ‘Be careful for nothing means “don’t worry about anything.” The Lord’s nearness (vs. 5b) leads Paul to forbid his readers from worrying. This is no summons to irresponsibility or an invitation to dismiss legitimate concern. The solution to undue anxiety is prayer in every thing, “in any matter of life.” The way to be free of anxiety is to be prayerful about everything. While God is eager to hear our requests, they are to be accompanied with thanksgiving.’
So what’s the end result of all that eh? Bruh Paul states it thus: ‘And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:7) Oh my people! ‘The peace of God is that tranquility of mind freeing the believer from fear and worry. “Peace” which passeth all understanding means (1) peace divinely bestowed in times of anxiety, so wonderful that it exceeds one’s ability to understand it; and (2) God’s peace far surpassing one’s own understanding of the problems, and His ability to cope with and solve it.’
And that peace shall guard our hearts through our trust and belief in Christ Jesus! Glory be my fellow saints! What more can we ask eh? Nothing really, but we do need to take our current fears and anxieties to the Lord in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. So, let’s do that right now nuh, through our Friday Chant. As one voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks.
And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now, please remember that we need to keep our promises, if we expect the Lord to keep His. Much LOVE!
…the Lord is my helper…I will not fear…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
12 Nov 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, as we forgive our debtors, be filled with the Spirit, be not drunk with wine, be responsible and stay safe, bring backsliders back to your fold, confusion and havoc of Covid 19, crossing our t's, do unto others as you want them to do to you, dotting our i's, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, embrace your love and compassion, forgive and you will be forgiven, forgive us our debts, Friday chant, if we forgive men their trespasses, in psalms hymns and spiritual songs, in the fear of God, it takes two to tango, making melody in your heart to the Lord, minding our p's and q's, not as fools but as wise, one that honours Him, one with God is the best there is, our sinful world, redeeming the time, sonny boy, speaking to yourselves, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the days are evil, the Lord like a good party, time to party, two together are better than one alone, wake up and smell the coffee, walk circumspectly
Matthew 6:12. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And then there was shouting and singing of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui! Thank God this brutal workweek almost done! The weekend is upon us and the time to party finally come!’ Ah Lord eh! How we do like our parties. Wish we could even give a small percentage of the time we think about partying to thinking about God. Our lives would be so much better all around.
And it’s not like we can’t party in and with the Lord, because we can. Like all of us, the Lord likes a good party, but one that honours Him, in ways that glorify and proclaim His holiness and righteousness, not the leggo-beast parties that the world seems to value so much. Remember the numerous feasts that the Israelites were commanded to have in olden times. Well, likewise we could also have numerous occasions to sing and praise and glorify our great and wonderful God.
Like Bruh Paul told the Ephesians. ‘See then that ye walk circumspectly (carefully), not as fools, but as wise. Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph. 5:15-21).
Yes friends, that’s how believers ought to behave in their daily lives. Making melody to God in our hearts, while walking circumspectly and wise amongst the evil and ungodly world in which we live, not being licentious and dissipated and ungodly like so many of us tend to be. Please remember that God sees all that we do, both in public and private, and also reads the motives of our hearts, so it’s foolish to claim to be a believer and then living so much like the world. We might fool our peers, but not the Lord.
As Granny always warned: ‘Sonny boy, please remember, that drunk or sober, always to mind yuh business.’ But, unfortunately, in this crazy and evil world, too many of us supposed believers are not minding our business like we should, not minding our p’s and q’s, crossing our t’s and dotting our i’s. And that’s a big part of why our world is so depraved and ungodly; Christians are not doing their part; we are not standing up to the heathen as we should. We are placidly accepting whatever the world offers when we know to do better.
And not only is our stance against the world not good enough, but our help, edification and encouragement to each other is not worthwhile either. Instead of building up our fellow saints we are ever so quick to pull them down. We forget that one of the building blocks of our faith is helping each other.
As Bruh Paul said earlier in his letter to the Ephesians. ‘Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph. 4:29-32)
Now, if we could only lower the great amount of bitterness, wrath, malice and evil speaking that currently exists in Christ’s church, both the church and the world would be a whole lot better off. We all desire people to be nice to us and forgive us, but sadly we don’t do the same to and for them. Whatever happened to the Golden Rule: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ And remember Jesus’ very decisive words on forgiveness in the Sermon on the Mount. A part of the prayer He taught us reads: ‘And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’ (Matt. 6:12)
That means we are asking the Lord to forgive us in proportion to how we forgive others. And Jesus went on to further clarify that statement by saying: ‘For if we forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.’ (Matt. 6:14-15) That’s it loud and clear friends; forgive and you will be forgiven; don’t forgive, neither will you be forgiven.
But we have become so arrogant and boldface these days that we go to the Lord asking for forgiveness, while bearing a whole lot of unforgiveness in our hearts towards others. And when the Lord doesn’t forgive us and answer our prayers, we foolishly wonder why and get angry with God, even to the point of turning away from Him. Oh my people, many of our problems, anxieties and woes stem directly from our ungodly behaviour. Why can’t we wake up and see it eh? Anyway, it’s never too late to make amends, so let’s begin that process right now nuh, by going to the Lord in sincere prayer, asking for His divine help through our Friday Chant.
Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets.
So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks.
And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And as the saying goes, ‘it takes two to tango.’ So, if we want the Lord to do our bidding, then we have to reciprocate by doing His. It’s as simple as that my brethren! Much LOVE!
…two together are better than one alone…and one with God is the best there is…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
05 Nov 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a house full of sacrifices with strife, all these things shall be added unto you, as a means of restoring faith in you, behold how good and pleasant it is, better is a dinner of herbs where love is, better is a dry morsel and quietness therewith, better is little with the fear of the Lord, bring backsliders back to your fold, confusion and havoc of Covid 19, Covid-19 virus, embrace your love and compassion, evildoers shall be cut off, for brethren to dwell together in unity, Friday chant, grin and bear it, introduce a whole new flock, like day follows night, LOVE, no peace of mind, our sinful world, reverential awe of the Lord, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith, than great treasure and trouble therewith, the joy of Jesus living within you, the love of money is the root of all evil, the season of frost, those that wait upon the Lord shall inherit the earth, wake up and smell the coffee
Proverbs 15:16. Better is little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure and trouble therewith.
Well, like it’s finally begun friends. I’m talking about the season of frost. That’s when you awaken in the mornings and see your car windshields frozen with ice. And before you go to work or leave work to go home, you have to scrape off the annoying ice, which can ofttimes be very thick and most frustrating to remove. And the presence of frost only means one thing, we’re getting closer to winter and that beautiful white fluffy stuff we so adorably label snow, but which can be ever so dangerous, like the devil, if it gets its claws into you. (smile)
Like day follows night, the seasons follow each other, another one of God’s many awesome mystical set ups in His amazing universe. But that’s all a part of living in the cold, northern climes. So, you just grin and bear it, and move on with your life. And as always, the Lord does give you the wherewithal to handle whatever He allows to come against you. And though you never really get accustomed to it, or even like it, except you are a skier or someone who likes snow sports, with the joy of Jesus living within you, you can even enjoy it some of the times.
Take me, for example. When I first came here, I went all over the cold, snowy land with an ice-hockey team from my workplace, and that got me acclimatized to the situation much quicker than if I had just shied away from it. Fast forward some forty something years later, I still find it’s beautiful when it’s nice and clean, but do my best to stay away from it, especially when other human beings are also plowing through it. Anyhow, enough on the snow scene, let’s not encourage it to come any sooner than it will. (smile)
What I am guided to talk about today is an ungodly and distasteful matter that leads too many of us believers around by the nose, like a chained animal. And Cousin Sol put’s it very nicely in Proverbs, when he declares: ‘Better is little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure and trouble therewith. Better is a dinner of herbs (vegetables) where LOVE is, than a stalled ox (fatted calf) and hatred therewith.’ (Prov. 15:16-17)
And if that isn’t the God-awesome truth, I don’t know what is! For the presence of the Lord within a home, is so wonderful and refreshing, even when there isn’t a whole lot to eat, while hatred within a home where plenty exists, substantially detracts from the very satisfaction that having plenty ought to bring. As the scholars so wisely remind us: ‘15:16. Spiritual riches are better than material riches.’
And Cousin Sol touches on the subject again in Proverbs 16 and 17, where he claims: ‘Better is a little with righteousness, than great revenues without right (justice).’ (Prov. 16:8) ‘Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than a house full of sacrifices (sacrificial meals) with strife.’ (Prov. 17:1) And we see it all around us in this world full of plenty. Many of those households are unhappy despite their plentiful material riches, while the poorer households that have a reverential awe of the Lord dwell together much better.
As Bruh David says in Psalm 133 – The joy of brotherhood. ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.’ (Ps. 133:1) But that can only be accomplished if there is a strong connection with the Lord God Jehovah, and thus the absence of negative things like hatred and envy. Bruh David himself also talks about the value of spiritual over material wealth in that famous Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked. There he proclaims: ‘A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of the many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous.’ (Ps. 37:16-17)
And that’s no lie friends, for within the same psalm, Bruh David sincerely advises us to: ‘Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (for it only causes harm). For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps. 37:8-9) That’s a faithful promise of God, so we know that it will eventually come to pass.
That means we ought to be careful how we live on this ungodly, evil earth and not run down the material wealth it seeks to compromise us with. Instead, we ought to do like Jesus advised: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) That’s wisdom in spades my brethren! It’s the wisest decision we can ever make on this earth.
Let us not forget these marvellous words of Bruh Paul to Timothy either. ‘But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment (clothing) let us therewith be content. But they that will be (desire to be) rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful (harmful) lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition (ruin and destruction). For the LOVE of money is the root of all (kinds of) evil; which while some coveted after, have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (for which some in their greediness have strayed from the faith).’ (1 Tim. 6:6-10)
And we all know that’s the gospel truth, because the LOVE of money (greed) is all around us, especially in these troubled and frustrating times, and everyday it’s leading somebody to ruin and destruction. So please, let’s wake up nuh mih people, and stop selling our souls to Beelzebub for a few worthless baubles and bangles that we cannot take with us when our bodies return to the dust from whence it came. We need to be more concerned about our spiritual self which will live on after the body turns to dust. And we can only do that if we have a right relationship with Almighty God, the Creator and Controller of the universe and all therein.
Consequently, as Jesus has enabled us to do, let’s take this marvellous opportunity and go to Him in prayer, through our Friday Chant, humbly, but confidently asking for His divine help. As one strong and sincere voice. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks.
And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
But please remember, to get that divine help, we need to keep our earthly promises. Much LOVE!
…it’s useless…to have plenty earthly wealth…but no peace of mind…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
29 Oct 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a gossip betrays a confidence, a trustworthy person keeps a secret, backsliders, biblical difference between gossip slander, by thy words thou shalt be condemned, by thy words thou shalt be justified, Covid-19 virus, defeats God's purpose, divine help, embrace your love and compassion, every idle word that men speak, Friday chant, God in His awesome faithfulness, in the day of judgement, LOVE, pandemic, Pastor Jeff Adams, social media, spreading false information, they shall give account for, ungodly living, unrest in the streets, wake up and smell the coffee
Matthew 12:37. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by words thou shalt be condemned.
Oh friends, the ole fella is at a loss for exciting words to begin today’s message. Would you believe it? (smile) Well, I guess these things happen at times to the best of us, but I’m not worried, because I know that in His awesome faithfulness, the good Lord will soon intervene with some divine help since it’s His word and gospel I’m trying to spread, and He has faithfully promised to help all those who work sincerely in His name.
What a sentence! (smile) But it’s all the truth, and that’s all that really matters. How something is put down doesn’t matter as much as what is put down. The thing must be positive, edifying and true, otherwise it defeats God’s purpose.
That recalls the story of one person wanting to tell another some news about a friend. But the listener stopped him in his tracks and asked if the news was true? The teller said he wasn’t sure. Then the listener asked if the news was something good. The teller answered no, it wasn’t good news. Then the listener asked if it would benefit him. The teller said he didn’t think so. Then the listener said he didn’t want to hear the news about his friend if it was bad, didn’t benefit him and was probably untrue.
That’s how we believers ought to operate as much as we possibly can. We are not perfect and will occasionally find ourselves gossiping about things we’re not sure of or listening to stuff that doesn’t benefit anybody. But we cannot make that kind of behaviour habitual. And here I am going to pull a few excerpts from a sermon on the ‘Biblical Difference Between Gossip and Slander’ by Pastor Jeff Adams found on the yelmonline.com website.
Pastor Adams begins: ‘Here are two practical statements: “A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.” “A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends” (11:13; 16:28, NIV).’ There he is quoting the words of Cousin Sol from Prov. 11:13 and 16:28, as translated by the New International Version of the Bible.
But just for comparison we will also provide the king James Version which we use. The first one reads: ‘A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.’ (Prov. 11:13) And the second one says: ‘A froward (perverse) man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief (good) friends.’ (Prov. 16:28)
Then Pastor Adams goes on to specify that ‘Biblically, gossip is sharing information that ought not be shared. It may or may not be true.’ Meanwhile ‘Slander is spreading false information. We need to understand that one can be gossiping and slandering at the same time, and one can be gossiping and not slandering at the same time. In other words, gossip can be true and slander is false. Some information is nobody’s business to share. So what if you have the dirt on somebody else? Why is it OK for you to spread other people’s personal and/or private information?’
Then he quotes Jesus’ advice in Matthew; ‘But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by words thou shalt be condemned.’ (Matt. 12:36-37) And yuh better believe that in these days of easy communication, of much slander and gossip, many of us, including those in the church, will be answering for a lot of idle and untrue words come the judgement day.
Oh my people, it’s woeful, the amount of false and slanderous information that’s been spread like wildfire today, especially over the social media network. And don’t fool yuh fat (fool yourself), we believers also indulge a lot in the slackness. People’s lives, careers, self-esteem and what have you are being systematically destroyed by others who don’t care what they do to their fellow man. That’s mindful of Bruh Paul’s words in his second missive to the church at Corinth where there was apparently much feuding and false information being spread in his absence.
He therefore writes: ‘Again, think ye that we excuse ourselves unto you? we speak before God in Christ: but we do all things dearly beloved, for your edifying. For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would (wish), and that I shall be found unto (by) you such as ye would (wish) not: lest there be debates (contentions), envyings, wraths, strifes (selfish ambitions), backbitings, whisperings, swellings (conceits), tumults: And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail (mourn) many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness (licentiousness) which they have committed.’ (2 Cor. 12:19-21)
And those my friends, would also be very appropriate words to write about our current society today. If Bruh Paul thought he saw or imagined reckless, ungodly living back then, his heart would certainly burst with utter disappointment at today’s dismal standards. Unfortunately my brethren, all most of us can do is to stand strong and do our best in our little corner of the world. So please let’s do that nuh, for every li’l bit of goodness and mercy helps to undo and discourage evil and strife.
But together, as a corporate entity, Christ’s church, we can do a whole lot, and it all begins with prayer. Therefore, let’s take our problems to God in prayer, through our Friday Chant, as He has asked us to. As one strong voice. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks.
And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And as always, let’s remember that if we don’t keep our promises, God won’t answer our prayers the way we desire. Much LOVE!
…our words are more important to our destiny…than many of us realize…so please be careful with them…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
15 Oct 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a light unto my path, as a means of restoring faith in you, bring backsliders back to your fold, calamity adversity tribulation, Covid 19 virus, embrace your love and compassion, faithful behaviour, faithful believers, festoon me with your finest sayings, forgiveness, Friday chant, guide along the pathway of righteousness, have good success, I don't swerve an inch from your course, I inherited your book on living, I've committed myself, introduce a new flock, keep meditating on God's word, living in total sin, LOVE, meditate therein day and night, obedience to Christ is a must, omnipotent help, our much deserved lot, our sinful world, rid our society of God, right motives of our hearts, shall not depart out of thy mouth, sincere repentance, stand strong and steadfast, tempted by the wicked, the anxiety confusion and havoc, the devil's lie, the error of their ways, the light and love of Jesus, the perilous pathways of this evil world, the wicked try to throw me off track, then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, this book of the law, throw a beam of light on my dark path, thy word is a lamp unto my feet, to forego and forget God's word, trusting faith, wake up and smell the coffee, wake up from our evil ways, wise gudance, you reap what you sow
Psalm 119:105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Well it’s certainly not as beautiful out there today, as it was yesterday. It’s cloudy and miserable with rain forecasted during the day, but as I always say, what a good thing we have Jesus to otherwise brighten up our day! For even when the skies are cloudy and gray, and the storms are pounding down on us, the light and LOVE of Jesus is always present within His followers to lead and guide them along the pathway of righteousness. No wonder the psalmist confidently and gratefully declared: ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ (Ps. 119:105)
Yes friends, obedience to Christ’s dictates is a must if we want to sincerely live for Him. But how do we know His dictates? By reading His Word which gives us wisdom and knowledge. That means His Word is a lamp to guide us through the perilous pathways of this evil and ungodly world. And I like how the bible.com website illustrates the message on verses 105 -112 of the Psalm. It says: ‘By your words I can see where I am going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path. I’ve committed myself and I’ll never turn back from living by your righteous order.
Everything’s falling apart on me, GOD; put me together again with your Word. Festoon me with your finest sayings, GOD; teach me your holy rules. My life is as close as my own hands, but I don’t forget what you have revealed. The wicked do their best to throw me off track, but I don’t swerve an inch from your course. I inherited your book on living; it’s mine forever – what a gift! And how happy it makes me! I concentrate on doing exactly what you say – I always have and always will.’
Now that could be an everyday prayer, because every day we are tempted by the wicked to forego and forget God’s word and the rules for righteous living found therein. But when we keep meditating on His word, it will guide our path like a light. Remember how the Lord had the cloud by day and fire by night when He brought the Israelites out of Egypt. The Good Book tells it thus: ‘And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light’ to go by day and night.’ (Ex. 13:21)
Oh saints of Christ, you can see from the beginning of time that the Lord has safely guided His people. He always does it. Back then He did it with the Israelites through a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire, because they were just learning about the Lord and had no written material to turn to, but we now have his holy word in print, in a physical form that we can always turn to for good and wise guidance. And we ought to be continually in it if we want to stay true to God’s dictates, for that is its stated purpose.
Remember God’s admonition to Joshua? ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’ (Josh. 1:8) Brother! The Lord’s point is so clear, as it always is! Meditate on my law and keep it, and you will be prosperous! What’s so hard to understand about that eh?
And we know from their history that when the Israelites did as God said, they prospered, and when they turned from Him, they fell on hard times, adversity swallowed them up. And the same thing is happening to us right now! We have turned away from the word of God and living in total sin, not reading or following His word. So what do we expect happen eh? Wine roses and song? Absolutely not! Calamity, adversity and tribulation is our much deserved lot, and that’s exactly what we are getting.
All through the Good Book we are warned about disobedience, and see example after example where disobedient societies fall prey to adversity and calamity. So why do we think that because we have supposedly reached a higher level of civilization that we are exempt from God’s everlasting law eh? We aren’t! In fact, much more is expected of us because we know and understand more than those who have gone before us. But we choose to continue in our disobedience and evil doings, even trying to completely rid our society of God, and yet expect to prosper for a long time.
That’s the devil’s lie, his favourite deception, for the word of God doesn’t change, and if He said way back when, obey me and you will be prosperous, then that command still stands today, and if we were smart, we would choose to do it wholeheartedly. And as always, Cousin Sol had his wise two cents worth to throw in, during his warning against adultery. He says: ‘For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.’ (Prov. 6:23) And if anybody should know about the law and its effects, it’s Cousin Sol, who went from being God’s shining star, in his early life, to the doghouse in his later days.
But the wonderful thing about our God is that when we wake up from our evil ways, we can always come back to Him through sincere prayer and true repentance. So please, let’s go to Him right now nuh, through our Friday Chant, spilling out our problems in sincere repentance, asking for forgiveness and His wise help. Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks.
And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And please don’t forget that the Lord’s response to our entreaties will depend on our faithful behaviour and the right motives of our hearts. Much LOVE!
…you reap what you sow…so you can’t sow sin and expect to reap righteousness…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
08 Oct 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, and grieve not the holy Spirit of God. ye are sealed unto the day of redemption, backsliders, be responsible and stay safe, Christ's promise of salvation, Covid-19 virus, faithful believers, filled with joy and galdness, foul language, Friday chant, guarantees our salvation, motives of our hearts, our sinful world, seals us as a child of God, stand strong and steadfast, the down payment of Christ's commitment, the earnest of our inheritance, the error of their ways, the everlasting light of life, the gospel of your salvation, the harbinger of good news, the joy of the Lord is our strength, the redemption of the purchased possession, the sealing of the Holy Spirit, the weekend, unexpected storm, unto the day of redemption, wake up and smell the coffee, whereby ye are sealed
Ephesians 4:30. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Oh Friday, are we ever glad to see you, because you are the harbinger of good news – the weekend! And this past week in my area has been so rainy, and if not rainy, then cloudy and grey, like the sun has lost its energy or will to shine. But it’s a good thing that we have the best light ever – Jesus – who shines His marvellous light on our souls, thus we can handle the lack of light on our bodies. So that even when our outsides are clothed in darkness, our insides are filled with joy, and gladness, the everlasting light of life that is Jesus!
That’s why we shout: ‘The joy of the Lord is our strength!’ And no one can take that from us, though the enemy keeps on trying. Yes friends, once we accept Christ as Lord and Saviour, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us and effectively seals us as a child of God, a seal that no man can break.
Hear Bruh Paul to the Ephesians. ‘In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise. Which is the earnest (down payment or deposit) of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.’ (Eph. 1:13-14) And yes friends, that sounds like it’s very complicated, but it’s not. It simply means that we Gentiles who believed on Christ received the Holy Spirit when we believed, not afterwards.
The scholars tell us: ‘The sealer is Jesus; the seal is the Holy Spirit. The sealing of the Holy Spirit guarantees the benefits of our salvation, as a person might seal an envelope to guarantee its enclosures. The Holy Spirit as the seal to the believer is also the earnest of our inheritance, that’s a down payment of Christ’s commitment to someday give the believer all other things God has promised. With that seal of the Holy Spirit, God therefore assures the Christian that the realization of the rest of his salvation is forthcoming.’
So, once we believe, there’s no need to worry about all the other promises of salvation, because we have the deposit, the down payment of salvation dwelling with us, within us, and by our side! Glory Hallelujah! Now why would I refuse to accept such a wonderful invitation to come into Christ’s marvellous body, His church eh? No reason whatsoever!
And there are a couple of other verses that talk about the sealing of the Holy Spirit. Bruh Paul also mentions it in that beautiful fourth chapter of Ephesians where he discusses the new life in Christ that believers ought to adopt. Things like putting on the new man, being renewed in the spirit of our minds, not lying, not being angry, and not letting the sun go down upon our anger. Not using foul language, but words that are edifying to our listeners. Then He says: ‘And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.’ (Eph. 4:30).
Yes mih bredrin, we do grieve the Holy Spirit when we abuse our fellow men with foul language. It’s like James said of the tongue: ‘Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude (likeness or image) of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter. Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine figs? So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.’ (James 3:9-12)
Oh my people, that’s ever so true! We bless God and curse those made in His likeness with the same tongue. It ought not to be that way, because then we grieve the Holy Spirit. And the last scripture about sealed by the Holy Spirit, comes from the second epistle of Bruh Paul to the church at Corinth, where he reassures them of the promises of God and his confidence in them. ‘Now he which stablisheth (established) us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us is God. Who hath sealed us, and given the earnest (down payment) of the Spirit in our hearts.’ (2 Cor. 1:21-22) What reassurance for the believer!
And the scholars explain that ‘The sealing of the Holy Spirit has a threefold significance in the New Testament. (1) to indicate ownership; (2) to indicate genuineness; (3) to preserve and keep safe (cf. Eph. 4:40; 2 Tim. 2:19; Rev. 7:2-3) This last idea is amplified with the earnest of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit Himself is the down payment or pledge, of redemption. The indwelling Spirit is the surety and the “security” of all that is to follow in the final salvation of the believer (cf. Rom. 8:9-11, 23; 2 Cor. 5:5; Eph. 1:14).’
Oh saints in Christ, what more or better assurance can we have, or do we need to put all our trust in Christ Jesus eh? None whatsoever! Christ not only died for us, He also pledged the Holy Spirit, the best deposit or down payment we can ever have as a promise of our salvation!
Now being thus reassured of Christ’s promise, let’s do what we are advised to do nuh; go boldly to the throne of grace with our problems, to seek help in this time of great need. So as one strong, confident, but humble voice, let’s declare our Friday Chant. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks.
And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And I should not have to remind us, but I will, (smile) that all of what we asked for, depends on our repentant behaviour and the true motives of our hearts. Much LOVE!
…the best guarantee ever…the Holy Spirit…on Christ’s promise of salvation…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
01 Oct 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a careful degree of meticulousness, a greatly divided world, annihilation of mankind, be responsible and stay safe, beautiful colours of autumn, bring backsliders back, climate change, embrace your love and compassion, entrenched attitudes, established it upon the floods, faithful believers, free choice, Friday chant, God's passion and love for the earth, he hath founded it upon the seas, homelessness, I am the Lord that is my name, LOVE, made man in His own image, mired in hatred strife and anger, my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images, obedience to God's word, out of the dust of the earth, political disagreement, poverty, prone to sin, racial inequlities, sinful world, some semblance of peace and love, the chilly days, the earth is God's masterpiece, the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the lake of fire, the Lord spoke it into existence, the pandemic, the world and they that dwell therein, trusting faith, wake up and smell the coffee
Psalm 24:1. The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein.
Can you believe it’s already October my friends? That means the beautiful colours of autumn will soon be upon us…including the chilly days that come with it. (smile) And what’s amazing is that with all the problems we’ve encountered, the year has still gone rushing by without a care for our serious worldwide predicament. It seems to be saying to us that it can’t wait around for us to fix our problems, it has to be about the Father’s business. If we want to stay mired in hatred, strife and anger, then that’s our misfortune, it has nothing to do with the moving forward of the days and the seasons.
And it’s quite right. The Lord has set the times of the seasons, which means nothing whatsoever will stop them from doing His bidding. I certainly wish the same could be said of His greatest creation, mankind. But no, with the free choice the Lord gave us, instead of being obedient to His word and desires, we have become proud, arrogant, ungodly, stubborn, prone to sin and disunity. And yet we wonder why we have so many problems.
Ah mih people, who knows how, when, or even if the numerous problems that are now facing us will ever be healed, or brought to some kind of resolution? Every day seems to bring with it a new disaster, be it natural or man-made, and the contentious questions concerning things like the pandemic, climate change, racial inequalities, political disagreement, homelessness and poverty are no closer to being solved. In fact, the temperature is heating up, with more entrenched attitudes and disagreeable words being spouted in a harsher and more strident manner with each passing day.
It’s a blessing that we have the Lord God Almighty, our Creator and Controller of the universe still on His heavenly throne keeping an eye on things yes. For without His steadying hand on the tiller, we would most likely have already sadistically devoured each other. Thankfully, His plans for the world don’t seem to call for a complete annihilation of mankind, although we are drawing closer to such a possibility everyday with the warlike words and attitudes we continually display.
It would be good though for all of us to take a moment and read these marvellous and truthful words of Bruh David as he outlines them in Psalm 24 – The king of glory. He confidently proclaims: ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods (rivers).’ (Ps. 24:1-2)
Now those are facts we cannot dispute my fellow believers. The Lord brought the world and everything within it into existence from nothing, through His magnificent power and planning. Thus, everything belongs to Him, despite what we foolish humans seem to think. And He will not allow anyone or anything else to take it away or control it. Remember what He said through the prophet Isaiah: ‘I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.’ (Is, 42:8)
Yes friends, our God is very protective of what is His, and no one or nothing will take the glory and praise that He is entitled to for the creation and maintenance of this world. And I like how this commentary on the subject from the Christianity.com website reads. ‘God founding and establishing the Earth through such a careful degree of meticulousness is so inspiring and comforting. It reveals more about God’s passion and love for the Earth. The Earth is His masterpiece and like an artist, He crafts it and maintains what is His.’
Oh my people, even the unbeliever, if he sits quietly and contemplates the universe and all therein, will realize that despite its complexities and idiosyncrasies, and without any apparent overseer, it runs ever so smoothly, like a well-oiled machine. That ought to bring some serious appreciation for the power and majesty of its Creator. We believers already have that great appreciation, that’s why we praise and worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, its Creator. For the world did not just appear from nowhere, but careful thought and much planning went into it, before the Lord spoke it into existence, and before He made man in His own image, out of the dust of the earth.
So yes, man has messed up the universe, but our heavenly Father still keeps an eye over it, because it’s His, and He doesn’t want us to completely destroy it, because He has a plan to restore and renew it some fine day. In the meanwhile though, we believers must try and bring some semblance of peace and LOVE to a greatly divided world; that’s the Lord’s desire.
He sent His Son Jesus to save us because He didn’t want to lose us to sin and Satan. But that doesn’t mean He will not judge the wicked harshly, those who refuse to believe in His Son, and consequently in Him. Please think about the final judgement and eternal separation from God, that entails being thrown into the lake of fire with Satan and his evil cronies. (Rev. 20:14-15)
Unfortunately, many of us think of that as a joke, but friends, God doesn’t make jokes in His word. It is the awesome truth! Whatever it says has happened, is happening and will happen! So please get serious about your eternal future. There are only two options: heaven and hell. And I am sure you don’t want to go the latter. That means we must begin right now, talking to God and making our way straight with Him through prayer and obedience to His word.
Therefore, as one voice, let’s go to Him through our Friday Chant and ask for His help. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets.
So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways.
And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now let’s go out and live the words ‘trusting faith,’ and ‘faithful believers,’ if we want our prayers to be positively answered. Much LOVE!
…the Lord doesn’t want to lose any of His creation…but He won’t rescind our free choice…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
24 Sep 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bed of roses, a lot of other lemmings, a sound from heaven, as a means of restoring faith in you, as of a rushing mighty wind, back to your fold, band yuh belly, be responsible and stay safe, began to speak with other tongues, bring a lot of backsliders, Covid 19 virus, embrace your love and compassion, fighting for what you have, filled with the Holy Ghost, Friday chant, guide you through the storms of life, He shall give you another Comforter, I will come to you, I will not leave you comfortless, I will pray the Father, if ye love me keep my commandments, in Jerusalem in all Judea and Samaria, introduce a whole new flock, John truly baptized with water, keep our promises, like as of fire, live the easy life, LOVE, miserable humans, more responsibility to face, mortals are so impatient and lazy, omnipotent help, our sinful world, Pentecost day, serious and unexpected storm, show them the error of their ways, that he may abide with you for ever, the anxiety confusion and havoc, the higher you rise, the Holy Spirit of God, the more complicated and difficult life becomes, the sincerity of our motives, the Spirit of truth, there appeared unto them cloven tongues, trusting faith, unfaithful too, unto the uttermost parts of the earth, use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets, wake up and smell the coffee, wise guidance and direction, ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, ye shall be witnesses unto me
John 14:16. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.
Friday, oh Friday, why have you taken so long to come eh? Didn’t you see us struggling to get through this wretched week? But Friday was having none of it. Uncharacteristically, he lashed out. ‘What do you miserable humans expect of me eh? I am only a day yuh know, just like the other six. I can’t speed up or slow down or do anything at all, except go at the pace that my Creator set for me. So please stop this foolishness of praying for me to go faster and get here quicker! And don’t you realize, that if I got here any sooner, it also means that Monday, which you hate, will also get here quicker too?
Chuh! You mortals are so impatient and lazy! You would do anything to get out of a li’l bit of work! Not only that, but all yuh also blooming unfaithful too, because all yuh have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in all yuh, the same Holy Spirit who promised to lead and guide you through all the storms and tough times of life. But all yuh can’t wait for Him to do that. In fact, all yuh don’t want to go through no storms or tough times at all, yuh just want the easy life like a bed of roses. But that’s never going to happen nuh, so you all better band yuh belly and prepare yourselves, because it have plenty rough and tough times coming up ahead!
And sadly, all that Friday says is true. We feel that because our society has reached a certain level of development, life should keep getting easier and easier. But that’s not the reality of the situation, for the higher you rise, in all walks of life, the more complicated and difficult life actually becomes, You have more stuff to look after and more responsibility to face. Please note that the leaders of any organization or society always have more responsibility than the lower members. It’s their responsibility to keep the society or organization running smoothly and progressing along the stated pathway. And that’s definitely not an easy task!
So this idea we have of rising higher, so that we can live the easy life, is not truly borne out by life at all, since the higher you rise, the harder you have to work to stay at that height, because a whole lot of other lemmings are fighting for your position and what you have. But as Friday so wisely says, we believers in Christ Jesus have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within us to lead and guide and comfort us throughout our earthly journey. But we must listen to Him and take His advice if we are to prosper and enjoy our days down here. Why do you think Jesus placed such emphasis on the Holy Spirit while He was on earth eh? Because He knew its importance.
While Jesus himself could only be in one place at one time, the Holy Spirit could be all about, all the time, dwelling and working simultaneously in each believer’s heart. As He told the disciples: ‘If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless (as orphans): I will come to you.’ (John 14:15-18) What a wonderful promise my fellow believers!
And before Jesus ascended back to heaven He met with the disciples and ‘commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, ye have heard of me. For John (the Baptist) truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence… But ye shall receive power after that (when) the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.’ (Acts 1:4-5, 8)
And so said, so done! We all know the Holy Ghost came upon the believers on that fateful Pentecost day, as they sat in the upper room. The Good Book tells it thus: ‘And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven (divided) tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.’ (Acts 2:2-4)
Yes friends, our mighty God doesn’t do things in a puny way! (smile) And since that day of Pentecost, ALL believers have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit of Christ, enabling them to do and see things that unbelievers cannot do or see. And that’s why our lives can be better and more joyful than the heathen… But we must make the Holy Spirit a major part of our daily living for that to happen, because it does so many useful and wonderful things for us.
In a nutshell, it comforts us when we are lonely, and helps us to comfort others in their rough times, it leads and guides us when we don’t know where to turn or go, intercedes for us, or reads our hearts when we can’t find words to communicate with our heavenly Father. It’s exactly what it’s called, Our Helper! But we must allow it to help us and not ignore all its warnings and directions like so many of us do.
And now it’s time to ask the Holy Spirit to help us sincerely come to the Lord in prayer, through our Friday Chant. So as one voice, with the Spirit’s awesome intercession, let’s pray. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks.
And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now let’s not forget, that the answers to our prayers will depend on the sincerity of our motives, and the way we keep our promises. Much LOVE!
…there’s no better helper or assistant than…the Holy Spirit of God…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
17 Sep 2021
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a heart for God, a man after His own heart, anxiety, avoid serious setbacks, back to your fold, bring a lot of backsliders, confusion and havoc of Covid 19, early will I seek thee, embrace your love and compassion, exhale a huge sigh of relief, faithful believers, Friday chant, give you much thanks and praise, giving me your righteousness, God satisfies the thirsty soul, he is the Lord's anointed, I will lift up my hands in thy name, in a dry and thirsty land, in the shadow of thy wings I will rejoice, introduce a new flock, longing for spiritual renewal, LOVE, my lips shall praise thee, my mouth shall praise thee, my soul shall be satisfied, my soul thirsteth for thee, paying my sin debt in full, reconciled back to the Father, seeking the face of God, show them the error of their ways, sincere believers in Christ Jesus, talk is cheap, the king shall rejoice in God, thou hast been my help, thy loving-kindness is better than life, true faith requires action and sacrifice, unexpected storm, wake up and smell the coffee, with joyful lips
Psalm 63:3. Because thy LOVING-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
It’s the big day of the work week friends – Friday! The day when our spirits finally exhale a huge sigh of relief that work is winding down for a couple days, and hopefully a li’l excitement and enjoyment will enter our lives on the upcoming weekend. But in these unfortunate times of pandemic, strife and all kinds of natural disasters, the chances are not as great as they were a year and a half ago. However, as sincere believers in Christ Jesus, we have an undying, an unending hope that things will turn out right once He is involved.
And all God’s children declared a loud, proud and grateful: ‘Thank You Jesus for being in my life! Thank You for all that You’ve done for me, including paying my sin debt in full on the cross of Calvary, for giving me your righteousness so that I could be reconciled back to the Father, and have everlasting life with You in heaven when my mortal body is no more for this earth! We LOVE You and give You much thanks and praise! Amen!’
And a very good example of that hope and faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are the words of Psalm 63 – God satisfies the thirsting soul – written by Bruh David when he was hiding out in the wilderness from his nemesis, King Saul. Bruh David, in his anguish and uncertainty writes: ‘O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is. To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary (so have I looked for thee).’ (Ps. 63:1-2)
That’s what you call hope and faith friends! In the midst of his problems, Bruh David is still concerned with seeking the face of God because he knows that’s his only hope for successfully getting out of those problems. In our time of adversity, do we seek the Lord with an ever-increasing intensity and fervour, or do we get angry and complain about why those problems are happening to us, and why the Lord didn’t prevent them in the first place?
Ah mih people, I know our first tendency is always to complain, but remember the Lord is the Boss and He moves in mysterious ways, and has a plan for each and every life, and within those plans are times of adversity and hardship that He thinks are necessary to develop our faith and trust in Him. And we can take Bruh David as a good example of that. He was anointed king in his teenaged years, and he did mighty deeds in his early twenties, that had the women dancing and singing, ‘Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands,’ (1 Sam. 18:7) but it was not until he was in his thirties, some twenty years after he was first anointed, that he finally became king.
And during those wilderness years, he experienced a whole heap of trouble, including constantly running from Saul, who wanted to kill him through simple jealousy. And Bruh David had a couple of opportunities to kill Saul, but simply refused to, saying ‘I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the Lord’s anointed.’ (1 Sam. 24:10) And that’s the same Saul who was trying to kill him for no good reason. No wonder the Lord considered him His friend and a man after His own heart.
And though he was struggling and suffering in the wilderness Bruh David continued writing in the psalm: ‘Because thy LOVING-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow (the best) and fatness (abundance); and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips. When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.’ (Ps. 63:3-6)
Oh friends, what a heart for God Bruh David had. Do we even come close to that? We need to, because it’s only when we truly believe and live our belief that the Lord moves heaven and earth to satisfy our needs and desires. Can we be in the wilderness, hungry, thirsty and afraid and still conjure up thanks and praise for Almighty God? Bruh David did it. He further declares: ‘Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after (close behind) thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.’ (Ps. 63:7-8) There is no remorse or bitterness in his supplication, despite his tough circumstances.
And then he concludes, with even further assurance. ‘But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion (a prey) for foxes (jackals). But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that sweareth by him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.’ (Ps. 63:8-11) Oh my fellow saints, what powerful faith and trust!
And I like how the scholars explain it. ‘Psalm 63. The location of the writing of the psalm is described generally as in the wilderness of Judah. Unlike many of the psalms written in these dire situations, however, this psalm is overflowing with thanksgiving rather than lament and petition. David declares his longing for spiritual renewal (vs. 1-2), he expresses his thankful mood (vs. 3-6), he gives voice to his trust in God (vs. 7-8), and he announces his hope for the future (vs. 9-11). Enemies are mentioned only in passing (vs.9-10).’
That is how we ought to live as faithful believers, my brethren. The Lord God Jehovah must mean, and be EVERYTHING to us, and eternal faith and trust in Him and His awesome promises must make our souls burst with praise and thanksgiving, even in our worst adversity. That means in troubled times like we are now experiencing, our faith and trust ought to rise to the top and push our fears and anxieties to the bottom. And the best way to do that is like Bruh David did, in and through prayer. So, let’s take our problems to God right now nuh, as we declare our Friday Chant.
‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets.
So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways.
And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!
Please remember though, that our God isn’t looking for talk from us, but action, so until we truly behave like faithful believers, our prayers won’t be answered positively. Much LOVE!
…talk is cheap…but true faith requires action and sacrifice…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
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