03 Sep 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Aaron, blessed Trinity, call upon his name, cherubim, darkness, eocnomic misery, evil, evil deeds, exalt ye the Lord, exaltation, faithful brethren, fellow believers, fellowshipping, forgave, gather in God's sanctuary, get thee behind me Satan, God in three persons, good, hatred, he is holy, heresy, holiness, holy, holy holy holy, homelessness, hope, hope toward God, hunger, lift our voices in song, light, LOVE, merciful mighty, Moses, offense toward God, ordinance, perfect, poverty, power, praise and worship, purity, resurrection of the dead, saints, Samuel, seraphim, sickness, sin, sinful man, special time, spiritual nourishment, statute, strife, Sunday, testimonies, the cloudy pillar, the Lord's Day, the Lord's Word, vengeance, war, worship, worship at his footstool
Psalm 99:5. Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.
Well my faithful brethren in Christ, that wonderful time has come around again; Sunday, the Lord’s Day, when we get to gather in His sanctuary and praise and worship Him while fellowshipping with our fellow believers. That’s such a special time in our faith my people, when we lift up our voices in song and prayer and listen to the Lord’s Word that provides us with spiritual nourishment and strength to keep on keeping on. So let’s begin the proceedings with this old hymn of immense exaltation, ‘Holy, holy, holy.’
With voices sweet, harmonious and loud, let’s sincerely offer up the sacrifice of praise with our lips. ‘Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee; Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty! God in three Persons, blessed Trinity! Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee, Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea; Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee, Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.
Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide Thee, Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see; Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee, Perfect in pow’r, in LOVE, and purity. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea; Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty! God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!’
Oh friends, what wonderful sentiments that hymn displays! Our God; holy, merciful, mighty! He is so powerful that it takes three persons, a Trinity to make One of Him! Perfect in power, LOVE, and purity! The whole earth, His awesome creation, shall offer up plenty heart-felt praises to Him! What a magnificent and magnanimous God we serve and worship my people!
I do hope that we fully understand and deeply appreciate not only His power, and His awesome generosity, but even more so His holiness and righteousness! As our Bit so gloriously proclaims to all and sundry: ‘Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.’ Words of indisputable truth my brethren as our hymn so deftly shows.
And that’s why He cannot condone or magnify sin; it just goes against His very holiness. Sin and holiness just don’t mix! It’s like good and evil; darkness and light, total opposites. That’s also why He had to find a way to sanctify us, set us apart and make us holy too, otherwise we couldn’t dwell with Him. And to keep that aura of holiness around us, we have to continually follow the command of our Bit, sincerely exalt and worship the Lord our God.
Jesus said it in no uncertain terms when Satan tried to tempt Him into devil worship. ‘Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.’ (Luke 4:8) Jesus was there echoing the words of Moses to the children of Israel long before that. (Deut.6:13)
And Bruh Paul, when carried before the governor Felix by the Jewish council on charges of heresy, solemnly declared. ‘But this I confess unto thee, that after the way (according to the way) which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and the prophets.
And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow (accept), that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. And herein (this being so) do I exercise myself (I myself strive), to always have a conscience void (without) offense toward God, and toward men.’ (Acts 24:14-16)
It’s all about God friends, not about us. And Bruh Paul in his great knowledge of the scriptures would know that was indeed the right thing to do. For example, he must have known the words of the psalmist after our Bit. ‘Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name; they called upon the Lord, and he answered them.
He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept his testimonies, and the ordinance (statute) that he gave them. Thou answeredst them, O Lord our God: thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions (on their evil deeds.)’ (Ps.99:6-8)
Ah people, it’s so simple; if we’d only follow God’s laws, everything would be right with us and with our world. There would not be this excessive amount of hatred, strife, war, hunger, sickness, poverty, homelessness, economic misery, etc. etc. that’s currently engulfing it.
In the long run friends, we only have one wise option, and that’s to do as the psalmist advises: ‘Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy.’ (Ps.99:9) Nuff said this morning friends. Have a blessed Sunday. Much LOVE!
…the holiness of God…calls for nothing less than sincere exaltation…
17 May 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, all-pervasive God, assurance, be as wool, bright sunshine, calamity, Christ's Church, Christian doings, cleanse me, clenched fist, colourful abundance, condemnation, contradiction, courteous words, disaster, disobedience, escape, forgiving, generous approaches, get rid of God, glad to be alive, God's gracious invitation, God's Searchlight, grace shattered, guilt, hypocrisy, I'm not turning back, individual decision, let us reason together, light of revelation, LOVE, loving, masked motive, my hands are on the plough, obedient, One Year Book of Bible promises, out in full force, penetrating gaze, penitent heart, purify me, race of life, rebel, rebellion, red like crimson, refuse, remorse, repent, run and hide, Ruth Harms Calkin, selfish act, spring blossoms, strife, the beauty of nature, the breath of life, the Holy Spirit, the wonders of Jesus, war, Wednesday Wail, white as snow, wicked ways, willing, wisdom, your sins be as scarlet
Isaiah 1:18. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Well a fine Wednesday morning to you and yours my Scrip-Bit friends and family! Today has begun in brilliant fashion; bright sunshine, birds singing sweetly as they go about God’s work, and the new spring blossoms are also out in colourful abundance!
Wow! What a day it is when both the Sun and the SON are out in full force! There’s nothing to beat it! So please, let’s grab a hold of the beauty of nature and the wonders of Jesus and run with them nuh, run this glorious race of life in which we’re entered!
Now I’m going to spoil the mood some, (smile) by sharing this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. When I read it recently, I couldn’t help but think how appropriate it is to so many of us believers. It’s titled ‘God ‘s Searchlight.’
Please pray with me. ‘O God If suddenly You were to reveal To my family, my friends, my neighbours Every real thought behind my courteous words If you were to point to my clenched fist While my other hand is openly extended
If you were to bring to light Every masked motive, every selfish act I would cringe with remorse And beg You to remove Your light of revelation. Yet, Lord, when the searchlight of the Holy Spirit Begins to reveal me to myself I so often close my eyes and turn my back In a frantic but impossible effort To escape Your penetrating gaze.
What a staggering contradiction, Lord What appalling hypocrisy. Apart from Your grace I am utterly shattered. I ask You to sweep through me Purify me, cleanse me completely. From the depth of my penitent heart I thank You for Your continual assurance
As I turn toward Your splintered cross: Because of Your LOVE I became Your child Because of Your grace I remain Your child.’
Ah friends, how genuinely that reflects so many of us a lot of the time! Our smiles and generous approaches aren’t always what they seem to be, neither are our outward motives.
And when the Lord deals with us on the matter, we try to run and hide. But remember, we can run, but we can NEVER hide from our all-pervasive God.
Yeh mih people, there is way too much hypocrisy in our Christian doings today. That’s one of the reasons why Christ’s church is having so many problems reaching and retaining members.
But our God is so wonderful, forgiving and LOVING, that this is what He says in answer to our cry. ‘Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’
Yes friends, that’s the Bible Promise for our ‘God’s Searchlight’ poem, as well as our Bit for today. How reassuring it is eh. It doesn’t condemn us, but offers us a chance to repent and change from our wicked ways.
And listen to how the Lord continues through Isaiah. ‘If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ (Is.1:19-20)
Simple and straight forward words of our God! You repent and become obedient, you prosper; you refuse and rebel, you suffer calamity.
And the sad part is that these are times of much rebellion and refusal to accept and be obedient to Almighty God! Instead of drawing closer to Him, we’re trying our very best to get rid of Him from our society.
Hn! No wonder there is so much calamity and disaster, so much war and strife in our world! Everybody seems to be up in arms against his or her fellow man. Now could that be because of our disobedience and rebellion?
You can bet your bottom dollar some of it is! God is trying to get our attention, but we’re too busy doing our own thing and going our own way to notice. However, listen to this explanation from the scholars re the verses above.
‘1:18-20. The prophet’s appeal to come and reason together reveals God’s gracious invitation to all men. It literally means to be “reasonable” by repenting and turning to God. Their sin is described as scarlet and red like crimson, referring to their bloodguiltiness before God.
The term ‘crimson’ also means “worm,” referring to the colourfast red dye of the scarlet worm. The eradication of this stain turns it snowy white and is symbolic of the life-changing grace of God, which delivers men from guilt and condemnation of sin. Thus the prophet reminds his readers that God stands ready to cleanse and forgive all who will turn to Him.’
Oh friends, I am also trying to remind us of God’s grace and mercy to all who will come to Him in repentance and obedience! But all I can do is put it before us, everyone has to make the decision individually whether to accept or reject it. I implore us though, to please accept it, because that is eternal wisdom.
Now for all of us who have accepted Jesus, let’s go home declaring with joy and contentment our Wednesday Wail. In unison now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday!
Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Oh doesn’t that just work wonders in our souls, my believing brethren! It certainly ought to. Much LOVE!
…only as one is surrounded by and ensconced in God’s LOVE…can one feel safe and secure…
04 May 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, accumulation, anger, blessings, choice, cold spells, contribution, curse, divine protection, earthly wealth, freely give, freely you have received, give and it shall be given to you, good measure, greed, greedy, hatred, it is more blessed to give than to receive, it shall be measured to you, lends to the Lord, Lucifer, men give into your bosom, negative repercussions., negative word, pressed down, promotion, Province of Ontario, resentment, running over, self-control, shaken together, shortsighted, shortsightedness, strife, success, the Arctic, the same measure you use, treasure in heaven, war
John 6:38. Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom (pocket). For with the same measure ye mete (use) withal (with that) it shall be measured to you again.
Welcome friends to a somewhat cloudy and chilly Thursday morning in my area; no brilliant sunshine like yesterday. And if that isn’t bad enough, we’re supposed to be having a sizeable amount of rain today and over the next few spring days.
Hn! Spring days you say? Well in the next few days of May, our friendly province of Ontario is forecasted to be hit with cold spells that haven’t been seen around this time for decades. The temps are not even forecasted to reach double digits. Yeh!
And some northern parts of the province might also see a few fluttering flakes of the white stuff. (smile) Yes friends, snow in May! These days anything is possible yes! Meanwhile, they are having problems up in the Arctic with stuff up there melting too fast.
And yet, there are still people who adamantly refuse to believe that something is seriously wrong with our weather patterns. But until the big boys, those in government and industry, stop being greedy and shortsighted, and truly decide to look into the problem, it will just continue to get worse.
The sad part is that it might not affect us in this generation, but our children and their children will surely inherit another problem caused by our shortsightedness and greed.
Ah mih people, unfortunately there’s not much most of us can do about the big aspects of the problem, but we can all make a contribution by doing the little we can, diligently and sincerely. That’s all Jesus asks of us.
Now let’s turn to our Bit; immortal words of Jesus that ought to be making a big positive splash in our world, but unfortunately are not.
‘Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom (pocket). For with the same measure ye mete (use) withal (with that) it shall be measured to you again.’
Oh friends, if we’d only follow those simple but true principles, our world would be such a wonderful place!
But instead we concentrate on greed and accumulation of earthly wealth, which only breed strife, anger, hatred, resentment, war and a host of negative repercussions. Steups! But that’s how mankind uses the choice that the Lord his Maker has given him.
Anyway, let’s look at some scriptures that highlight the act of giving, beginning with the words of Bruh David from Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked. ‘The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again (does not repay): but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth.’ (Ps.37:21)
Yeh friends, that’s just the way the righteous operate; according to the principles of Jesus! Now hear Cousin Sol. ‘He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.’ (Prov.19:27)
Remember my faithful followers, that Jesus came to save the lost, the sick, the poor, the prisoners and those in bondage, so anytime you help any of those lost souls, you are helping the Saviour, and He will always repay your help.
And then there are these fateful words of Jesus, as He sends out the disciples on a missionary journey. ‘Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils (demons): freely ye have received, freely give.’
Ah mih breddren, please let us pay serious attention to those last two instructions, for many of us receive free stuff, but refuse to give freely, instead wanting to hoard it all for ourselves. That’s not Jesus’ way my people, that’s Lucifer and the greedy world’s way!
And we have a most vivid example of how difficult it is to give of our earthly wealth. Listen to Jesus’ reply to the young, rich ruler who wanted to know what he had to do to enter heaven.
‘Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be (want to be) perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.’ (Matt.19:21-22)
Yeh friends, we all want to have much treasure stored up in heaven, but right now we’d much prefer to have it here on earth. We can’t have it both ways people. Now hear this last scripture, one from Bruh Paul, as he addresses the Ephesian elders.
‘I have showed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than receive.’ (Acts 20:35) Gospel truth friends!
And with that quote of our Saviour Jesus Christ, we can now go home sincerely declaring our Thursday Blessings. All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection!
I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
And since a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone or something, let’s go out and bless others, as we have been blessed nuh! Much LOVE!
…sincere giving…brings generous blessings…
04 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: action, afraid, all things work together for good, beloved of God, beneficial, benefit the earth, called according to His purpose, Christian walk, confident, devour, enemies, failures, faith, fight the giants, foes, frined of jesus, frowns, god, God is my strength and power, God makes my way perfect, God-given, harmless way, hockey game, indisputable, investment of energy, lure, mercy, misery, my heart shall not fear, my salvation, natural, of the utmost importance, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., overcome the world, Philistine, priorities, psalm 27, put out power, quench, sense of purpose, share His love, sincerity, smiles, Song of Deliverance, song of thanksgiving, strength, take stock, the joy of life, the light of Israel, the Lord is my light, the most powerful Being, the winter days, then that love god, tribulation, truth, Tuesday Mantra, victories, war, wasting resources, whom shall I fear
2 Samuel 22:33. God is my strength and power; and he maketh my way perfect.
Oh friends, blame it all on the game; the lure of the good ole hockey game! (smile) I began watching it late and just had to watch the whole thing. And then my beautiful body called for some decent sleep. So I couldn’t win any which way I turned. (smile)
And it looks like this rainy Tuesday morning is going to be a smiley type of morning, but nothing’s wrong with that, for smiles are way more useful and beneficial than frowns
Anyway, today I want to share one of the many famous quotes of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841-1935), an American judge and member of the Supreme Court. This one wisely declares: ‘The joy of life is to put out one’s power in some natural and useful or harmless way. There is no other, and the real misery is not to do this.’
Oh my people, are we doing this; putting out our power in a natural and useful or harmless way? I surely do hope so, otherwise we’re just wasting the resources that God, our Creator, gave to us to benefit the earth in some form and fashion.
I know we all have problems, be they physical, emotional or financial, but it is of the utmost importance that we learn how to use our resources, our energy in the most productive ways. We absolutely need to get our priorities straight so that we can live a good life with proper investment of whatever energy we have.
Wasting our precious, God-given energy on unproductive stuff is the worst mistake we can make, especially when we are in the winter days of our lives, and energy is not as plentiful as it used to be. (smile)
So let’s take stock of our lives today nuh, and see if and where we’re wasting our valuable energy, and ask the Lord to help us improve in that area. And that’s where our Bit comes in. ‘God is my strength and power; and he maketh my way perfect.’
Indisputable, gospel truth that, my brethren! And Bruh David knew it, that’s why he based his life on the strength and power of God. And so should we too my people…if we are wise.
The words of our Bit come from Bruh David’s Song of Deliverance after a battle where he was less than his usual powerful self, unable to put away a Philistine giant, and Abishai, one of his men had to do the dirty work for him.
And the end of the verse says: ‘Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.’ (2. Sam.22:17)
Now isn’t that touching! Bruh David’s men realized that he had reached the end of his battle days and wanted no physical harm to come to their beloved king.
Oh friends, hopefully when we reach that stage of our own lives, there’ll be someone to fight the giants for us and keep us safe from harm.
Now the scholars tell us that Psalm 18 is almost identical, in fact an edited version of the psalm from which our Bit is taken. They call it ‘a royal song of thanksgiving that rehearses God’s deliverance of David from all his enemies.’
And that’s no lie, for Bruh David went through a whole lot of unfair and troubling events, and it’s only because of the Lord’s great mercy and immense strength that he made it through.
So when he declares in the opening verses of Psalm 27: ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up (devour) my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.’ (Ps.27:1-3)
Oh precious people of God, that is how we feel when we walk seriously and consistently with God! We don’t fear what man can do to us, because we know that our God is the most powerful Being in the entire universe!
But to come to that point, it is necessary for us to go through the many failures as well as victories that are a part of this life. What did Jesus say? ‘In this world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33b)
And Bruh David understood that principle; through the power and strength of God, everything would eventually be made right. As Bruh Paul told the Romans: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’ (Rom.8:28)
And that’s a pertinent verse we all know, but don’t place sufficient faith in it, and thus are not as confident as we should be in our Christian walk.
Anyway friends, as of today all that is going to change, we are going to sincerely believe and walk confidently in the Lord’s strength and power. And we will begin doing so by declaring our Tuesday Mantra with sincerity and a true sense of purpose.
All together now: ‘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!’
And if we truly believe those words we just spoke, then let’s go out and put them into action as Jesus desires! Much LOVE!
…faith is not true faith…until it’s been put into action…
21 Mar 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: attention, Babylon, bet your bottom dollar, birthright, children of the Most High God Jehovah, chosen people, comprehension, corruption, covet, cry out of violence, dictators, disaster, economic failure, erratic lifestyle, Esau, evil, friend of Jesus, God's ways, grievances, habakkuk, haughtily, heritage, how long shall I cry, inheritance, iniquity, Israel, joy in the God of my salvation, judgement, lentil soup, long-suffering, LOVE, make my feet like hinds feet, medication, merciful, Micah, never leave nor forsake us, oppressor, promise of God, punish, Rejoice in the Lord, remove your necks, salt water, salvation, sand, sea, share His love, strength, strife, sun, thankful, the beloeved of god, the power of their hand, the time is evil, the wicked, thou wilt not hear, thou wilt not save, tired of doctors, Tuesday Mantra, violence, walk upon mine high places, war, West Indian weather, workers of iniquity, wrath, ying and yang
Habakkuk 1:2. O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
Oh friends, what the ole fella wouldn’t give for some hot sunshine and oh so therapeutic salt water this Tuesday morning eh!
Now the sun’s shining brightly outside and it’s about 5 degrees, going up to somewhere around ten, but that’s not doing me any good at all.
Chuh! I need some real warmth, some sea, sun and sand and salt to help me get rid of this cold that’s been plaguing me for almost two weeks.
Right now, like Esau, I’d give up my birthright for some awesome West Indian weather. I’m sure that’s worth much more than the bowl of lentil soup that Esau gave up his birthright for. (smile)
I guess I might just have to go back to the doctor and check it out. But to tell the truth, I’m oh so tired of doctors and hospitals and labs and medication and the erratic lifestyle it’s all causing me to live. My ying and yang just can’t get into sync at all.
On the other hand though, I must be thankful for the attention I’m getting, for that’s what is possibly keeping me around and getting me better.
Oh I have no doubt that the Lord in His awesome wisdom and power will ensure that I get better and live a decent lifespan so that I can do all the work He’s appointed me to do, but sometimes this long-suffering season just gets to me. (smile)
And now that I’ve aired my grievances, let’s get on to something that’s much more important than me nuh. (smile) Something like our Bit, which highlights the utter evil and corruption of our world. ‘O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!’
Yeh friends, our world is so corrupt and evil that it just boggles the imagination, and is rather reminiscent of Israel when Habakkuk cried out to the Lord.
And we saw how the Lord used the evil empire of Babylon to punish the Israelites, though Habakkuk further complained and asked God why He should use the wicked to punish his people, and that judgement should also fall on the Babylonians. (Hab.1:12-17)
But we need to remember that God’s ways and His comprehension are infinitely higher than ours, and though the Babylonian empire did eventually fall, He used them for a teaching tool to His chosen people Israel.
I don’t know what or whom the Lord is going to use to teach us this time, but be forewarned, judgement WILL COME to us if we continue down the wide and evil highway on which we are currently travelling.
The Lord might be long-suffering and merciful and all that, but He can only take so much of our nonsense, and at some time His wrath is going to explode on the workers of continuous iniquity. You can bet your bottom dollar on that!
Listen to this promise from the prophet Micah, re woe to the oppressor of the poor. ‘Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work (work out, plan) evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand.
And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away (seize them): so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage (inheritance).
Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil (I am devising disaster), from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil.’ (Mic.2:1-3)
Please notice friends, that all of God’s promises come through, whether they be for good or for disaster. And our day is truly evil, so it’s only a matter of time before the Lord reins us in.
And who knows if He isn’t already doing so with all the natural disasters taking place all over the world, plus our own man-made disasters with widespread war and strife and economic failure and several new dictators in the making, and we’re just not paying attention?
Anyway my people, though the earth’s future might look somewhat grim, as believers, we have the sure promise of God that He will NEVER leave nor forsake us, and we desperately need to hold on to it.
And as Habakkuk said at the end of his book, though life may be exceedingly rough: ‘Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds (deer) feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.’ (Hab.3:18-19)
Yes friends, when we put our absolute trust in the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, we will NEVER be disappointed!
Now let’s go home assured of His goodness and mercy by enthusiastically 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!’
And if we declared that in all sincerity and truth, then we can now go out and put it all into action. Much LOVE!
…true wealth is what you are…children of the Most High God Jehovah…not what you have…
13 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adventure, adversities, affection, believers in Jesus Christ, blood, by water, charter of salvation, Christ-like, Christians, church, conforming to God's will, consummation of peace, correctness, encouragement, enthusiasm, equipped, eternal life, face the upcoming week, faith, fellowship, fight the good fight of faith, flee these things, for her life he died, fruit of our lips, furnished, God's guidebook, God's inspired Word, godliness, good works, grace, hardships, heresies, his holy bride, inspiration of God, Jesus Christ, lay hold on eternal life, live eternally, LOVE, lowly, man of God, material wealth, maturity, measure up, meek, meekness, ministry, money, new creation, obedience, passion, patience, perfect, perseverance, phenomenal, praise, progress, relaxation, Remembrance Day, rent asunder, rest, reverence, rewards, righteousness, sacrifice of praise, saints, salvation, schisms, standards of righteousness, steadfastness, strength, sweet communion, thanksgiving, the Book of answers, the church's one foundation, the Lord's Sabbath, the man of God, the morn of song, the Word, toil, tribulation, trust in God, tumult, union with God, victorious, war, weeping, woes, worship
2 Timothy 3:17. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.
Ah friends, that wonderful day called Sunday, the Lord’s Sabbath, has rolled around once more! It’s a day of rest and relaxation, but more importantly one also of worship and fellowship amongst Christians.
That means, if we are able, we ought to get together with other believers in Jesus Christ to sing and offer praise and thanksgiving for His goodness to us, to listen to His word, as well as receive encouragement and strength to face the upcoming week.
Now let’s begin with a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of our lips, by singing the inspirational hymn, ‘The Church is One Foundation.’ With sincere enthusiasm and passion friends: ‘The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord; she is his new creation by water and the Word. From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride; with his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.
Elect from every nation, yet one o’er all the earth; her charter of salvation: one Lord, one faith, one birth. One holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food, and to one hope she presses, with every grace endued. Though with a scornful wonder the world sees her oppressed, by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed, yet saints their watch are keeping; their cry goes up: “How long?” and soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song.
Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of her war, she waits the consummation of peace forevermore, till with the vision glorious her longing eyes are blest, and the great church victorious shall be the church at rest. Yet she on earth hath union with God the Three in One, and mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won: O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we like them, the meek and lowly, may live eternally.’
Glory to God my people for such a wonderful worship song, written way back at the end of the 19th century by the British pastor Samuel J. Stone! And over a century later, it’s still a worship favourite. I wonder if the songs we’ve recently penned will be sung so victoriously a century from now eh? Who knows? That’s even if the world is still around the way we know it.
But regardless of what exists then, right now we have to go back to our Bit of a few days ago. I fully intended to continue it on Friday, but that was Remembrance Day, and the other Bit about a man laying down his life for his friend, just fit better. Then yesterday, the scripture about the true light, also seemed to be a better fit, per the direction in which I was being led. (smile)
So let’s refresh our memories a tad with the verse before our Bit. ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.’ (2 Tim.3:16) And we said that the Bible was God’s guidebook to us for earthly righteous living, and though it was physically written by men, it was authored by God, through His divine inspiration.
And our Bit tells us of the very important reason why the Lord authored it. ‘That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’ And the scholars told us that ‘God’s inspired Word, properly used and applied provides all we need for life and ministry.’
Glory Hallelujah my people! We don’t need anything else to live this life proficiently, capably, righteously than God’s Book of Answers!
Now let’s check out some scriptures on the subject. Listen to Bruh Paul admonish Timothy in his earlier letter. After talking about the LOVE of money being the root of all kinds of evil, and how some have ruined themselves through covetousness, Bruh Paul tells him.
‘But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness. Fight the Good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.’ (1 Tim.6:11-12)
Oh friends, all of that also applies to us today, if we want to be considered a man or woman of God!
And the scholars offer these interesting explanations. ‘6:11. Flee these things means shun a LOVE for money (v.10) and the striving for material wealth (v.9) with all its resulting woes. Follow after means pursue. Righteousness is practical correctness, conforming to God’s will in one’s thinking and acting.
Godliness is proper reverence for, and obedience to, God. Faith is a trust in God that grows stronger. LOVE is a maturing affection for God and man. Patience is perseverance or steadfastness in life and service. Meekness is gentleness.’
There we have it my brethren; a chart against which we can measure our progress and success in being a true man, or woman of God.
And the scholars continue: ‘6:12. The good fight concerns the daily struggle with sin in the Christian life, and the hardships and adversities in the ministry. A genuine believer demonstrates the reality of his faith by being engaged in this warfare. Lay hold on eternal life does not negate the fact that a believer now possesses spiritual life (John 3:36); rather, it speaks of fully realizing or appropriating salvation as the believer matures.’
Yes friends, those few words do say a lot about our Christian faith, and I think it’s a good time for us to take stock of our personal faith, or maturity, whether we’re making any progress or not. So let’s take a few moments sometime today, find a quiet spot and see how we measure up against those standards of righteousness nuh.
Let’s see if we are truly fighting the good fight, really involved in the spiritual warfare; see how we doing with shunning the LOVE of money and the material things of the world. Let’s check to see if our faith is as strong as it ought to be, if we’re persevering and steadfast and gentle…and all the other righteous attitudes and capabilities we need to live a Christ-like life, for that’s supposed to be our earthly goal.
And as always, wherever we find ourselves lacking, let’s turn to our heavenly Father and confidently ask for His always available help. Much LOVE!
…a Christian’s life is not an easy go…but the adventure involved is worth it…and the rewards at the end are truly phenomenal…
08 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool is considered wise, a little memebr, a man of understanding, a saved soul, a world of iniquity, ancient seals, anger inflames talk, batting our gums, believers in Jesus Christ, boasteth great things, born again, bridle, bridleth not his tongue, chains break, control, deceiveth his own heart, distracts, dr robert h schuller, draw near to hear, edifying, eventful day, evil, experience joy, faith, fool, footsteps of Jesus, heartache, hell, hold my peace, Hour of Power, ideals, iniquity, joy, keep thy foot, keeps silent, learn to know God, level of faith, listening to God, living a godly life, LOVE, my friend Jesus, of hell, on God's great earth, our worst enemy, Paradise, patience, pep in our steps, perfecting of the saints, Praise the Lord, principles, righteous, Satan, set on fire, share His love, shut my lips, silence is golden, silence., slow to speak, slow to wrath, spiritual and emotional walls, strife, swift to hear, talk inflames anger, the beloved of God, the body of Christ, the course of nature, the house of God, the righteousness of God, the sacrifice of fools, the tongue, the work of the ministry, the wrath of man, this man's religion is vain, trials, tripp off our tongues, trust, truth, Tuesday Mantra, unworthy children of men, useless, walk prudently, war
Ecclesiastes 5:1. Keep thy foot (walk prudently) when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear (draw near to hear, rather) than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
All hail, my fellow believers in Jesus Christ! It’s a glorious Tuesday morning…Praise the Lord!
Yes friends, we’ve been granted another eventful day on God’s great earth! Wow! Isn’t He wonderful to us unworthy children of men? He surely is! That’s why we ought to give Him a lot of thanks and praise throughout the day.
And to do that, some of us might just need these words of encouragement from Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional. It’s titled ‘Learn to Know God.’
Please pray with me: ‘ Dear Jesus, I’ve got to know You better. Please help me! I can feel my spiritual and emotional walls crack. I can hear old chains break. I can feel my heart opening like a heavy old door whose ancient seals have just begun to break.
I can sense the footsteps of Jesus walking into my life. I am beginning to experience the joy of a soul that is being saved, a life that is being born again. Thank You, Lord! Life’s not fair, but God is good. Amen!’
Ah my people, when Jesus is walking in our lives there’s such joy in our souls, and such pep in our steps! For remember, ‘the joy of the Lord is our strength.’ (Neh. 8:10)
And to further raise the joy in our souls, the level of our faith and the pep in our steps this Tuesday morning, let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra with the utmost sincerity and belief.
As one now: ‘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!’
Yes mih breddren, it’s certainly a wonderful God we believe in and great Friend and Saviour we have in Jesus! Nothing in this world can beat it!
We just have to remember whose we are, and behave in a fashion suitable to their ideals and principles; basically living a godly life and sharing the LOVE of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
And the awesome advice in our Bit will surely help us to do that. ‘Keep thy foot (walk prudently) when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear (draw near to hear, rather) than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.’
Yeh friends, we’re still on that Bit because it covers such a wide area, especially where our mouths and our promises are concerned. We can either be righteous or evil with those two things. And James deals with them very nicely, obviously pointing us towards the righteous aspect.
Listen to him: ‘Wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. For the wrath of man worketh not (does not produce) the righteousness of God.’ (James 1:19-20)
And the scholars add this info to those verses. ‘1:19. This is a key verse because it expresses three topics that James develops later: hearing, verses 19-27; speaking, 3:1-12; and wrath, 4:1-12.’
‘1:20. Trials require silence and patience because talk inflames anger, and anger inflames talk. Anger also distracts from listening to God.’ So true friends, so true!
And later on in that same passage, James tells us in no uncertain terms: ‘If any man among you seem to be (thinks he is) religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain (useless).’ (James 1:26)
What indisputable truth! We can’t claim to be truly religious if we don’t know how, what and when to speak. The old adage that says ‘silence is golden,’ is very true on a lot of occasions.
We’d be better served by remaining silent than by batting our gums, for as Cousin Sol reminds us: ‘Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace (keeps silent), is counted wise (is considered wise): and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.’ (Prov.17:28)
And I pray: ‘O Lord please help me to hold my peace, to shut my lips, so that I will be considered a man of understanding, even though I’m a fool!’ (smile)
Ah friends, sometimes our mouths are our worst enemy, our tongues cost us more heartache than anything else. As James says: ‘Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter (forest) a little fire kindleth (sets on fire).
And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue (the tongues is so set) among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature (existence); and it is set on fire of hell.’ (James 3:5-6)
And the scholars explain: ‘3:6. The tongue is a system (world) of iniquity that sets on fire the whole course of life, and is even set on fire by Satan (cf.3:15).’
Yes precious people of God, the tongue is one of the smallest parts of our bodies, but it has unnatural control of the entire body. Since the beginning of time, our tongues have caused more war and strife than anything else, but we still can’t, or refuse to bridle them.
Thus our lives are oftimes turned topsy-turvy by the words that trip off of our tongues. But today, I implore us to take good care, to ask the Holy Spirit to help us keep silent and think before we talk, and then to only talk that which is: ‘For the perfecting (equipping) of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.’ (Eph.4:12)
If we successfully do that, then our lives and our world will surely become more a representation of paradise, than one of hell, as it currently is. Much LOVE!
…many of us would be better off…if we had no tongues…harsh…but true…
04 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundant life, all the earth, chew slowly, china, Christians, cloth napkins, comfort, Daily Menu, eat desert, economic prosperity, enjoy life, enthusiasm, everyday miracle, faith, fresh flowers, fresh herbs, give thanks, glorious, good manners, good news of Jesus, goodness, great conversation, have Jesus in our lives, heads hung down, in the last days, invite someone, Jerusalem, joy, judge, learn war no more, Leila's, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, living in LOVE, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, loving kindness, make a joyful noise unto God, make his praise glorious, make love not war, martyrs, morose existence, mysterious ways, negative sentiments, out of Zion, Papa Joe's, plowshares, prepare every meal with love, pruninghooks, roti, savour every morsel, Selah, set a table, share His love, shoulders drooped, shout joyfully, silverware, sincerity, sing forth, sing to thy name, sing unto thee, spears, swords, the beloved of God, the bright light of Jesus, the day of the Lord, the friend of Jesus, the god of Jacob, the happiest people in the world, the honour of his name, the house of God, the law, the millennial age, the word of the Lord, tools of peace, Tuesday Mantra, war, wash your hands, weapons of war, worship
Psalm 66:4. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
Welcome to a glorious Tuesday morning friends! Oh I know it’s still dark outside as I write this, but I’m also sure that the bright light of Jesus is shining through the darkness, both physical and spiritual, bringing light and comfort to our hearts, minds, bodies and souls! What a wonderful Lord and Saviour we have my people. And there’s truly NONE like Him!
Oh, and what mysterious and fabulous ways He operates! Check out this small, everyday miracle that happened to me yesterday. I was down the street going to get a roti from the recent hot roti shop, Leila’s. But when I got to the little plaza where it’s situated, I discovered that Leila’s was closed on Mondays.
However, just across the plaza I saw a place called Papa Joe’s, with roti also on its menu. So I decided to check it out. When I entered, Papa Joe was attending to another customer, so I walked around looking at the décor.
And lo and behold on the wall I saw this black, marble like plaque with white italic writing on it, surrounded by a fancy white border, with a place setting of a fork on the left side and a knife and spoon on the right.
Obviously it piqued my interest and I went over to read it. And though I had the Duchess take a picture of it with her phone, I still felt the need to write it down. But now I’ve discovered that my description won’t do it justice, so I’m going to try and send an attachment.
And this is what I read: ‘Daily MENU Give thanks Fill a vase with fresh flowers Set a beautiful table Use fresh simple ingredients Use your best china and silverware Prepare every meal with LOVE Use fresh herbs Invite someone Practice good manners Wash your hands Use cloth napkins Chew slowly. Savour every morsel Have great conversation Eat desert Wash your own dishes’
Oh friends, isn’t that just beautiful! I certainly find so. And I believe the Lord meant me to see it so that I could share it with you today. It’s just a nice, easy, but wonderful way to live our lives!
However, we can’t do that if we don’t have Jesus in our lives, for it is only through Him that we can rise to such simple, but glorious heights. I hope the attachment came out properly and you shared my enthusiasm for it. (smile)
Now let’s do what we do every Tuesday; declare our Tuesday Mantra with sincerity, faith and mucho enthusiasm.
All together now: ‘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!’
Glory be, my people! NOTHING can beat being a beloved child of God and a trusted friend of Jesus! Wow!
Now with all of that goodness and LOVING-kindness, why aren’t’ we Christians the happiest people in the world eh? I certainly don’t know. But we ought to be.
Sadly though, too many of us walk around with our heads hung down, shoulders drooped, with guilt and whatever in our spirits, behaving like martyrs, believing that we should not be happy, enthusiastic and enjoy life.
But that’s totally wrong my brethren, for Jesus said that He came so that we could have life and have it in abundance! (John 10:10)
That means we don’t need to go around sad and miserable to be considered a true Christian. In fact, as true believers, we should be doing what our Bit says: ‘All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.’
Now that’s how real Christians should behave. And the psalmist was even more specific and enthusiastic before our Bit.
He begins the psalm thus: ‘Make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto God, all ye lands. Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. Say unto God, How terrible (awesome) art thou in thy works! Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.’ (Ps.66:1-3)
Yeh friends, that ought to be the everyday behaviour of the true and devout believer, not a sad and morose existence. Now listen to how Isaiah characterizes the day of the Lord.
‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
And many people shall go and say, come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks (pruning knives): nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.’ (Is.2:2-4)
What a blessed day that will be my people! And the scholars tell us: ‘The setting is the millennial age, when the nations of the world will come to the Holy City (Jerusalem) to learn the ways of God.
Christ Himself is pictured as the Judge who will direct the affairs of the nations during His millennial kingdom. Thus the weapons of war will be turned into tools of peace and economic productivity.’
Oh friends, how I look forward to that day; that day when war shall be no more! But why do we have to wait till then eh? We can start right now by pursuing peace, by spreading the good news of Jesus and living in LOVE with God and each other!
So I implore us today, to begin turning our weapons of war, our negative sentiments into tools of peace, LOVE, joy and economic prosperity, for that is indeed wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!
…the motto of the true believer…make LOVE…not war…
P.S. Sorry friends, but I could not put the attachment in the Blog, so you will just have to rely on my description. (smile) Much LOVE!
10 Sep 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fleeting illusion, a laughing stock, ambassadors for Christ, Anselm, aspires to inspire, be not afraid, be string and of a good courage, Bob Marley, brilliant light of Jesus, Christian fashion, conspiracy, courage, courageous, declare the gospel, degrade, denied, dismayed, don't give up, enforced, equal rights, eternal life, fence sitting, fight the good fight of faith, for all to see, gospel truth, greetings, guaranteed, guidance, human-rights, hypocrites, ignorance prevails, indisputable truth, inherit, Jesus is alive and well, Joshua, justice, lasting peace, LOVE Revolution, make a difference, Moses, never attained, oppress, passion, passive, poverty, promises, pursued, race, rob, salutations, saving grace, serve christ, stand up, steadfast, strife, the Holy Spirit, the Lord thy God, to the very end, trials, tribulations, trying times, ungodly world, war, wish-washy, witness for Christ, world citizenship, zest
Joshua 1:6a. Be strong and of a good courage…
Greetings and salutations my fellow brethren in Christ! Welcome to what looks like a somewhat cloudy and hopefully rainy Saturday morning in my neck of the woods. And do we ever need some decent rainfall.
But the best part of the morning is knowing that regardless of what the weather is like, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is alive and well and that His brilliant light is shining in our hearts, minds, and souls for all to see.
And the most important part of that sentence is the last part, ‘for all to see.’ That’s because Christ is shining His light not only in, but also through us. The light is for us to share with the rest of the world who don’t know Him and cause them to come to Him for His saving grace, without which they can’t find eternal life.
And it’s especially in these difficult and trying times that the world needs believers to stand up and declare the gospel with great zest and passion, and live it in true Christian fashion.
We must not be seen as wishy-washy, fence sitting hypocrites, else that would just invalidate our witness for Christ and make His organization, His church, more of a laughing stock than it already is.
So friends, please, let’s promise ourselves this morning to be excellent ambassadors for Christ so that we can raise the level, the intensity of His LOVE Revolution, that’s the only hope for our misguided, evil and increasingly ungodly world.
Wow! Where did all of that come from eh? When I sat down just now to write, that was nowhere in my imagination, but as always, I asked for guidance, and I guess that’s where I was guided. Ah mih people, you never know with our great God nuh!
Now let’s check out a couple of quotes from our friend Anselm who always aspires to inspire us. And I like this first one: ‘Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth! For as Bruh Bob (Bob Marley) said in his song: ‘That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all, without regard to race. That until that day, the dream of lasting peace, world citizen ship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued but never attained… and everywhere will be war…ah say war…’
Yes friends, until equal rights and justice play a much larger role in our society, we will ALWAYS be engulfed in strife. And the second quote from Anselm tells us that, ‘The strongest people are not always the people who win, but the people who don’t give up when they lose.’
That’s more indisputable truth my brethren! The strongest are the ones who fight the good fight of faith right down to the very end, despite all the trials and tribulations that come their way. And it all segues so smoothly into our Bit: ‘Be strong and of a good courage…’
Yeh mih people, that’s all we dealing with this morning; being strong and of a good courage… Why, you ask?
Because I believe now, more than ever, Christians need to stand up strong and steadfast and be courageous, stop being passive and allowing ourselves to be pushed around and aside by the evil world powers.
Right now we’re definitely not doing justice to the ultimate power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, that’s supposed to lead and guide us along the straight and narrow path destined for us by our Creator.
The anxious and fearful way in which so many of us behave, one would never believe that the Spirit of God resides within us. We have to stand up strong friends, much stronger than we’re currently doing.
Poor Joshua was bombarded with that direction, both by Moses and the Lord. Listen up: ‘And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.’ (Deut.31:7)
The Good Book also tells us, per the Lord’s direction: ‘Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel. And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.’ (Deut.31:22-23)
And the Lord when He commissions Joshua as Israel’s leader, after the death of Moses, He reiterates in our Bit: ‘Be strong and of a good courage… Then in the next verse, He tells him once more; ‘Only be thou strong and very courageous…’ (Josh.1:7a)
And if that wasn’t enough, two verses later, the Lord reminds him. ‘Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.’ (Josh.1:9)
And that same message also applies to each and every believer today! Yes my people, it is ever so important that we Christians stand up proud and strong in these trying times, because that’s the only way we’ll ever serve Christ properly, and make a sincere and substantial difference in our world, which we are called to do. Much LOVE!…
Christians ought to be the strongest and most courageous people on earth…because of the awesome and ever-faithful promises of Christ…and His Holy Spirit which dwells in them…
28 Aug 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Anselm, Asa, awesome majesty, Azariah, be well with them, compassion, confession, disobedience, disobeyed God, do our best for Jesus, door of happiness closes, evil, failing economies, families, fear me, fight the good fight, forgiveness, forsake, from earth to the cross, from heaven to earth, from the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky, give Him thanks, God shuts a door, harmony, helping others, homelessness, hunger, I love to sing your praises, idolatry, jehovah god, keep all my commandments, looking forward, Lord I lift your name on high, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, magnify His holy name, move on, my debt to pay, opened door, outpouring of praise, peace, persecution, poverty, praise and worship, punishment, repentance, Rick Founds, saving grace, seek the Lord, sincere heart, strife, stubborn, thanskgiving, the closed door, the Sabbath, the Spirit of God, thou shalt find him, to show the way, turn to God, understanding, ungodly times, war, warm the cockles of Jesus' heart, with all thy heart and soul, with their children forever, worshipping the God of their fathers
Deuteronomy 4:29. But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Awright my people, it’s the big day, Sunday, the Sabbath, a day of praise and worship! So let’s get straight to it nuh, let’s sing this popular song of praise and worship by Rick Founds, ‘Lord I lift Your name on high.
With strong voices and sincere hearts let’s allow our song to rise to heaven and warm the cockles of Jesus’ heart as we praise and glorify His awesome majesty, magnify His holy name and give Him thanks for all that’s He’s done for us.
‘Lord I lift Your name on high Lord I love to sing Your praises I’m so glad You’re in my life I’m so glad You came to save us You came from Heaven to earth To show the way From the earth to the cross My debt to pay From the cross to the grave From the grave to the sky Lord I lift Your name on high… Lord I lift Your name on high… Lord I lift Your name on high…’
Beautiful my people, truly beautiful! Heaven had to be moved by such an outpouring of praise and thanksgiving! Now since I couldn’t share yesterday, the two of our friend Anselm’s quotes that I usually share, I’ll include one today. And it simply says: ‘When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.’
So true friends, so true! We all know that when one door closes another is usually opened, but we pine for what’s behind the closed door so much, especially if it was good, that ofttimes we can’t see, or are not even aware of the newly opened door. We’ve got to learn that when God shuts a door, we’re to leave it alone, look elsewhere for the next thing He has earmarked for us.
But, sadly, being creatures of habit and comfort, allergic to change, we still yearn and hunger for what’s behind the closed door, although deep down we know that the Lord has something better waiting for us through the newly opened door. Yes my brethren, we have to keep looking forward not backward.
As they say, the Lord brings certain things and people into our lives for a reason and/or a season, but when that time is up, and He shuts that door, we have to let whatever it is go and move on. Otherwise we’ll spend our lives miserable, wanting and wishing for what is no longer available to us. End of sermon! (smile)
Let’s turn to our Bit; the same one we’ve had for the last couple days. Why, you ask? Because it’s such an important scripture, one on which our basic faith is based, and thus there are several references to it throughout the Good Book. And more importantly, it is very appropriate for these evil and ungodly times in which we’re now living.
Just listen to the great promise it contains. ‘But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.’
Oh my fellow believers, what a glorious promise that is from our magnanimous and merciful God! In our most sinful times, our times of trials and tribulations, of disobedience and idolatry, it is yet possible to seek Jehovah God, through confession and repentance, a sincere heart and soul and find Him. Wow!
Oh friends, that’s something our world needs to take advantage of RIGHT NOW because everything is falling down around us. War and strife, poverty, hunger, persecution, homelessness, failing economies, failing families and societies; those are the things that are currently colouring, are currently prominent in our world.
Things like LOVE, peace, harmony, compassion, understanding and helping each other are unfortunately on the way out. And the ONLY way to change the negative aspects of our world is to turn to God in true repentance and receive His graceful forgiveness.
Now hear this warning of the prophet Azariah to the Israelites. ‘And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. And he went out to meet (before) Asa (the king) and said unto him. Hear ye me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin; the Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. But when they in their troubles did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.’ (2 Chr.15:1-4)
Ah friends, although the Israelites were stiff-necked, stubborn and hard-headed and often disobeyed God, when the rough times, meaning God’s punishment, really caught up to them, they were smart enough to return to worshipping the God of their fathers. Now why can’t we recognize our serious plight and realize that God’s hand is working against us and turn back to Him eh?
The Israelites did it several times, and each time He welcomed them back with opened arms. He will certainly do the same for us, that is, if we can wake up before our entire world falls down, disintegrates around us. And it all depends on us my fellow believers in Christ, through the Great Commission (Matt.28:19-20), we are supposed to spread the good news of Christ all over the world. And right now we have the tools to do it.
So let’s get serious nuh, put our hands to the plough and just move forward with the saving grace of Christ’s LOVE Revolution. He is depending on His church to fight the good fight…and win it too.
Now let’s end with a rather appropriate piece of scripture, words of our wonderful God, after He had spoken to the Israelites out of the mountain of fire, and they were all afraid. And the Lord said unto Moses. ‘O that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!’ (Deut.5:29)
That says it all friends! Now let’s go out and do our best for Jesus, because that’s what He expects of us. Much LOVE!
…only true LOVE…in the guise of Jesus…can save our fast deteriorating world…
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