29 Jun 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: almighty god, be not afraid, believe in Jesus Christ, believe on him whom he sent, Bible, bless me, Capernaum, celebrate, Christ's people, Christ's victory, comfort, courage, covers all the bases, doubting Thomas, embrace the Son, encourage, eternal livelihood, eternal separation, eternity, everlasting life, exhort, feeds the five thousand, fellowship, first order of business, five loaves, foolish, getting together, God is in our thoughts, god the father, heavenly Father, imperils, individual approach, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus rescues us, John, joy, labour for food that endures, Labour not for food that persihes, let my heart find peace, life in the hereafter, LOVE, lusting after the things of the world, miracle, most worthwhile goal, on the inside looking out, opening prayer, our greatest teacher, peace, physiacl food, placed God in the background, praise, private time with God, reconcile, redeem, salvation, saviour, Sea of Galilee, selfless sacrifice, sinless life, Son of man, spiritual purposes, teaching of Jesus, thanksgiving, the Life, the only way, the Sabbath, the Truth, the Way, the Word, the work of god, time and time again, truer words were never spoken, two fishes, understanding, uplift, utmost importance, walking on water, warning, what God expects, wisdom, work the works of God, worship, worst thing could happen, wrong
John 6:29. Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Oh mih people, how we doing this bright and bountiful Sunday morning eh? I do hope that the Lord is in our thoughts, and that all those who celebrate the Sabbath on Sundays are getting ready to go and fellowship with others of like intentions.
Meanwhile, for those who celebrate the Sabbath on other days, I hope that you have already successfully fellowshipped with your peers. For we need to remember that fellowshipping is extremely important in the lives of Christ’s people.
It’s where we encourage and exhort and uplift each other. So please make it a habit of getting together with others of your denomination at least once a week to celebrate Christ’s victory, and to offer up praise and worship in thanksgiving for all that He’s so selflessly done for us.
And before I forget, here is a most useful prayer that we can all use when we come to share private time with our Maker. I’ve shared it sometime ago, but in light of yesterday’s Bit, where we talked about reading the Word, it seemed rather apropos to share it again. I found it at the back of my mother’s Bible after she went to be with the Lord, and since then, I’ve used it all the time.
It’s plain and simple and to the point. ‘Dear heavenly Father, as I open my Bible, I pray that you will let my heart find peace. As my mind is filled with new understanding, Grant that I may learn the things you want me to know from the words I read. Bless me to find the courage, the comfort, the joy, these pages can bring, as I read about Jesus our greatest teacher. Amen.’
Oh Friends, I don’t think we can getter a better opening prayer than that, for it covers all the bases! But it’s your choice to use it or not, though you can certainly use it as a guide to develop your own individual approach. Whatever you’re comfortable with, that’s what you ought to use.
And today, my fellow believers, we’re going to look at an interesting and most important teaching of Jesus. This happens the day after He feeds the five thousand with the five barley loaves and two small fishes, then gathers up twelve baskets with the remnants of that meal. That certainly opened their eyes and made them believe that Jesus was indeed a prophet. (John 6:1-14)
But Jesus fearing that they would take Him by force and try to make Him king, went off by Himself into the mountains. Then that evening, without Jesus, the disciples got into a boat to cross over the Sea of Galilee, but part way over a wicked storm hit them.
And like the gracious Saviour He is, who comes to our rescue time and time again, the disciples, now in great despair for their lives, eventually see Him walking on the water towards them, saying; ‘It is I; be not afraid.’ (John 6:20)
Now obviously after hearing about Jesus great miracle of feeding, the next day throngs gathered in expectation of more of the same. But unfortunately they couldn’t find Jesus, although they knew that He hadn’t gone over in the boat with the disciples. But nonetheless, they rushed over by boat to the other side, to Capernaum, looking for Him.
‘And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles (signs), but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.’ (John 6:25-26)
Jesus knew that they weren’t looking for Him for spiritual purposes, for spiritual fodder, but for physical food. And He therefore warns them: ‘Labour not for the meat (food) which perisheth, but for that meat (food) which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.’ (John 6:27)
Oh Friends, that warning is also of the utmost importance to us today, as we have sadly placed God in the background of our society with only sparse acknowledgment, and are daily lusting more and more after the unenduring things of the world.
And that is oh so wrong, so foolish my brethren, because it imperils our salvation, our eternal livelihood, setting us up for eternal separation from Almighty God, which is the very worst thing that could ever happen to a human being!
And the crowd back then, not fully understanding Jesus’ words, continued: ‘Then said they unto him, what shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.’ (John 6:28-29)
Yes Friends, that is what God expects of us! Before we can do anything in His name, we must first believe in and on Jesus Christ; the One He sent to enlighten us, to selflessly sacrifice His sinless life on our behalf, and thus redeem and reconcile us to Himself! That, my people, ought to be our first order of business! Not the last, as some of us consider it.
And that is quite ably backed up by Jesus’ statement to doubting Thomas, when he declared: ‘Lord, we know not wither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.’ (John 14:5-6)
Oh my brethren, no truer words have ever been spoken! So if you are truly concerned about your life in the hereafter, and you ought to be, then you’d better take those words to heart and put them into action in your life. For that my Friends, is indeed wisdom of the highest order possible. Much LOVE!
…to spend eternity on the inside with the Father looking out…one must first embrace the Son and all that He stands for…that’s the ONLY WAY to achieve that most worthwhile goal…
12 May 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a no-brainer, aching heads, appreciation, aura of love, be thankful for small mercies, bleary eyes, confidence, Creator of the universe, crucified, feted, foolish attitude, further God's glorious kingdom, Galilee, God anointed Jesus with the Holy spirit, God be with him, godliness, great gusto, healing all that were oppressed by the devil, heathen, Holy Ghost, holy spirit, honoured, humble servants, I do nothing of myself, improvements, invincible, Jesus Christ, Jesus went about doing good, Jesus' time, jobs, keeping lives and families together, lead and guide, lies, lifted up, meet the enemy in battle, miracles, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, mother's coat tails, Mothers, ne'er do wells, Nicodemus, Oh Lord God Almighty, Pharisees, praise Your Holy Name, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality and enthusiasm, responsible, saviour, serve a useful purpose, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, surrender our all to you, taunts, teaching in their synagogues, the light of the world, the LOVE of Jesus, the party over, the Sanhedrin, the Son of man, things that please God, time to rise and shine, unchurched, ungodly world, unsettled stomachs, walk with god, warning, wiles, wisdom, worthwhile inroads
Acts 10:38. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
Okay Mothers, is Monday morning, the party over, time to rise and shine and get back to the daily task and common grind – getting children and food prepared for school, and yourself ready for work, to go out and spread some of that godliness that lies deep within you to the heathen and unchurched!
Sorry Mothers, but you had your day in the glistening sunshine yesterday. Today it’s Jesus’ time once again. And this warning is also for you ne’er do wells, who hung on to your mother’s coat tails yesterday and partied as though it was in your honour. I know that Mother will get up and get going because if nothing else, she is that responsible, and it’s also what she’s been doing for most of her life. But it’s the remnant that will cause the problem. (smile)
Anyway, to stop all the confusion, let’s belt out our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with great gusto… or rather, with as much as our aching heads, bleary eyes and unsettled, up-chucking stomachs will allow. (smile)
All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Aye mih people, that wasn’t bad at all nuh, considering our physical states! Jesus even graced our rendition with a knowing smile, appreciating the effort, despite the fact that we’re not our usual stellar selves.
And I do hope that all you mothers out there had a wonderful time yesterday, that you were feted and honoured as you all so fittingly deserve. I know you all should be shown appreciation each and every day, but unfortunately that’s not the way our modern world operates, and sometimes we just have to be thankful for small mercies. One day a year might not be good enough, but it is certainly better than none.
Now let’s turn back to our Bit that was broken up by Mother’s Day. ‘How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.’
The last time we were dissecting the Bit and had completed the first part – How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: Today we’ll continue with the dissection, turning to the second part – who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil.
And as I said in that last Bit, I just LOVE that phrase, went about doing good, because it encompasses so many things, so many opportunities – complex as well as simple – for us to show the LOVE of Jesus.
Now here is a scripture that corroborates it all. ‘And Jesus went about Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of (every) sickness, and all manner of (every) disease among the people.’ (Matt.4:23) And Matthew must have thought that scripture to be very nice, because he wrote it twice. (smile) See Matt.9:35. It’s almost word for word.
Now let’s look at the last part of our Bit – for God was with him. Ah Friends, that’s the most important part of the Bit, for without the Father being with Jesus, He would not have been able to accomplish the tasks set out for Him. And what do the scriptures have to say about that eh?
Listen to this interesting reasoning. ‘There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles (signs) that thou doest, except God be with him.’ (John 3:1-2)
And that’s no lie Friends! Nicodemus, though a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling Jewish Council, he was wise enough to realize that the miracles Jesus did could only be accomplished by someone with the true Spirit of God within them.
And we’ll close the way I LOVE; with the words of Jesus Himself. Jesus was here wrapping up His teaching about being the light of the world. ‘Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up (crucified) the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.’ (John 8:28-29)
Oh my people, my fellow believers, the exact same thing applies to us! If we would only do as it pleases out heavenly Father, He will always be with us. That’s a no-brainer! So why are we in the messy situation that we’re in eh? There’s only one answer – we’re not doing the things that please God!
So please, let’s smarten up and change that foolish attitude today nuh mih breddren. It will not only please the Father and confirm that we are indeed wise, but also bring about drastic improvements in our lives. And who doesn’t want that eh… Much LOVE!
…to have the Father walk with us…we need to first walk with Him…
03 May 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: bless the Lord for His goodness, bless the Lord oh my soul, boomerangs back on us, calm, cut off from their mouths, downward spiral, egotistical, Egypt, Elementary my dear Watson, eternal life, everybody's doing their own thing, evil, faith, following Jesus, forgiveness, Francis Hutcheson, fraud, friends, God's people, godliness, gossip, grateful shout of joy, greed, hate, heaven, I shall be your God, imagination, instruction, Israelites, jealousy, Judah's rebellion, lies, Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, LOVE, loving, magnanimous god, mercy, messengers, negative things, no respect to God or man, obey my voice, omnipotent god, peaceful, perils of disobedience, prophets, punishment, pursuing the best ends by the best means, salvation, slavery, stiffened their necks, strife, stubbornness, the ends justify the means, the land shall be desolate, the pursuit of heaven through Jesus, the straight and narrow path, the voice of gladness, the voice of mirth, true wisdom, truth is perished, unconditional LOVE, ungodly, voice of the bride, voice of the bridegroom, walk in the ways I have commanded you, warn, warning, went backward not forward, wisdom, you don't listen to god, you have done worse than your fathers, you shall be my people, you walk after the stubbornness of your evil heart
Jeremiah 16:12. And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination (stubbornness ) of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me.
Oh Friends, another wonderful day is in the offing…!
And all God’s people responded with a grateful shout of joy: ‘Bless the Lord oh my soul! Bless Him for His goodness and His mercy, His forgiveness, and above all for His unconditional LOVE, which enables the world to go around!’
Yes my brethren, it’s essentially the LOVE of our magnanimous and omnipotent God that keeps our world turning and our lives on a fairly reasonable keel. And today I have a rather interesting quote to share from Rev. Francis Hutcheson (1694-1746), a Scottish / Irish philosopher.
Francis is reputed to have said that: ‘Wisdom denotes the pursuing of the best ends by the best means.’
Now I find that to be gospel truth Friends! Why? Because it all indicates a high standard of whatever we’re doing. We should always use the best means to pursue the best ends. None of that foolishness that the ends justify the means, because that is exactly what is leading our world on the downward spiral on which it is currently moving.
Too many of us think that it’s okay to do anything to get what we want, and unfortunately are putting it into practice. But that’s a fool’s wisdom, my people. For whatever we do, usually boomerangs back on us at some time or other.
And that quote struck me as being oh so appropriate to our faith! Now it says that we ought to pursue the best end. And what’s the best end? Why, HEAVEN of course!
And we should pursue it by the best means. That’s obviously our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
Therefore, Wisdom is the pursuit of HEAVEN through Jesus Christ! ‘Elementary, my dear Watson!’ as Sherlock Holmes would tell his sidekick.
And that’s why I can’t understand, can’t fathom or believe the shoddy, evil, egotistical and ungodly way we’re currently living our lives. Our Bit summarizes it so well. ‘And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination (stubbornness) of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me.’
Now how could there ever be wisdom in that style of life eh Friends? It’s impossible to be peaceful and calm and LOVING, when exploding all around us are mostly negative things like strife, hate, greed, jealousy, fraud, gossip and lies. This surely doesn’t sound like wisdom or godliness to me.
Now listen to the scriptures on how we are supposed to live, but instead are doing like the Israelites of old. And here Jeremiah is talking about the punishment for Judah’s rebellion. ‘But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.’ (Jer.7:23)
Oh mih people, mih people, that’s all so plain and straightforward! And after the Lord had brought them out slavery in Egypt, you’d think that they’d be ever so eager to follow His dictates. Hn!
‘But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination (stubbornness) of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward.’ (Jer.7:24)
Ah mih breddren, that must ring a loud bell in our souls! For that’s the exact way that we are behaving today: everybody’s doing their own thing with little or no respect to God or our fellow man. No society can function properly like that for any length of time.
Now hear the Lord again: ‘Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened (stiffened) their neck: they did worse than their fathers.’ (Jer.7:25-26)
That truly sounds like our world today my brethren! The Lord has been sending, and is still sending His messengers to warn us about the perils of our disobedience, but to little or no avail.
And our God continues: ‘Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee. But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction (instruction): truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.’ (Jer.7:28)
And that Friends, is also the state of our world!
Now let’s go home with possibly the most important of our scripture verses today, namely: ‘Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.’ (Jer.7:34)
And we’re already seeing that in our streets and alleys my people. And we all know that the Israelites were taken into captivity again. Our God doesn’t joke Friends. Yes, He is patient and longsuffering, but at some time even His patience will wear out in the face of such gross disobedience as we are showing.
So what’s it to be eh my fellow believers? Shall there be the voice of mirth and gladness in our land, or shall it be desolate? That’s the trillion dollar question we must each ask ourselves, then do whatever we think is wise and right.
Remember though, we WILL pay for our misdeeds at some point, if we don’t hearken to the Word of our God. Much LOVE!
…true wisdom…is following Jesus…on the straight and narrow path…that leads to salvation and eternal life…with Him in heaven…
27 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Abram, adversity, all things are possible, almighty god, as your heavenly Father is perfect, assurance, be perfect, blameless, child of God, complete, El Shaddai, Epaphras, exhortations, expectant faith, faith, faith and humility, fully assured in God's will, furthering God's kingdom, God uses trouble to mature us, God's glorification, God-like characteristics, godly love, goodness, heavenly presence of God, holy spirit, hungry hope, hypocrites, labouring fervently, lacking nothing, let patience have her perfect work, lukewarm faith, mercy, mirror image of Jesus, morally perfect state, negative assessment, new creation in Christ, perfect in Christ Jesus, Pharisees, progressive maturity, satiate, satisfy, scribes, servant of Christ, sinless, stand perfect and complete, strong, talk our talk, the will of God, triune God-head, true reflection of God, trusting in God's goodness and mercy, vibrant, walk our talk, warning
Matthew 5:48. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’
Oh Friends, today is one of those days when I don’t have a clue as to how to get the Bit going. (smile) But nonetheless, trusting in our wonderful God’s goodness and mercy, I am putting pen to paper, believing, having hungry hope and expectant faith that He will lead and guide me by His Holy Spirit to write something worthwhile. Something that will eventually lead to His glorification and the furtherance of His everlasting kingdom.
And if, perchance, He chooses not to run around today in a preamble, (smile) then we’ll just get straight into our Bit, because there are several scriptures which corroborate it, that need to be shared.
Anyway, I just want to say here that I dearly LOVE those two phrases I used above; hungry hope and expectant faith. I don’t remember where I first read them, but they certainly resonated, made a huge impact on me. The imagery seems so perfect – a hope that’s hungry, and a faith that’s expectant. They just seem to be made for each other!
And from here on in, that’s exactly how I want us to feel and behave. Let’s try to have a sense of hope that’s so strong and vibrant, reflecting the way we feel when we are dying from hunger and want food in the worst way, to satisfy and satiate our growling stomachs.
Likewise, with faith, let’s endeavour to have real great expectations of whatsoever we’re believing in and for, because passive, wishy-washy, lukewarm faith just doesn’t cut it. Moreover, if we truly want to attain to the level of our Bit, we desperately need a hope that’s truly hungry and a faith that’s really expectant, for how else can we become perfect like our heavenly Father eh?
‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’
And remember, yesterday the scholars explained being perfect doesn’t mean ‘sinless,’ but rather ‘complete,’ having a passionate, godly LOVE, burning within us for both those who LOVE us and those who don’t. In other words, my people, a true reflection of our Creator.
And in fact Friends, from the earliest days, our God has been trying to get us to be perfect and complete. Listen to the words He spoke to Abram. ‘And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God (El Shaddai), walk before me, and be thou perfect (blameless).’ (Gen.17:1)
Then back in the New Testament, we have Bruh Paul, re his service for Christ, writing thus to the Colossians: ‘(Christ) Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.’ (Col.1:28-29)
Then in his closing exhortations in Chapter 4, he writes: ‘Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth (greets) you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete (filled) in all the will of God.’ (Col.4:12)
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘4:12. That ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God means that “you may appear perfect and fully assured in all His will.” Like 1:23, 29, this refers to the Colossians being ushered into God’s heavenly presence in a morally perfect state. When this someday occurs, their experience of progressive maturity and assurance will have preceded it.’
Meanwhile, James, in talking of faith and humility encourages us: ‘But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire (complete), wanting (lacking) nothing.’ (James 1:4)
And per the scholars: ‘1:4. The natural response to adversity is to escape it. But God uses trouble to mature His people.’
Ah mih people, to be a true child of God, a new creation in Jesus Christ, we definitely do need to improve our God-like characteristics. Otherwise we’ll end up being big hypocrites, just like the scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ time – looking good on the outside, but terrible on the inside.
So please, let’s talk our talk, and then walk that talk big time, so that that negative assessment Jesus made of the Pharisees and them, will never be made against us.
If we want to walk in Jesus’ footsteps, we have to work at being like Him and our heavenly Father – perfect and complete in every way. It’s not easy to do in this godless and wicked world, but with the help of our triune God-head, remember that ALL THINGS ARE INDEED POSSIBLE!
That’s the wisdom of the ages! Much LOVE!
…as believers…in all our words and deeds…the world ought to see reflected in us…a mirror image of Jesus…so that they can come to know Him too…
29 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ability to make choices, believe, blessings, book of life, bringing us down easy, brow beat, buy wine and milk, cold temps, come to the waters, compassion, consideration, decisions, distortion, disturbing, eternal life, eternally grateful, fear not, floods, genuine believer, gift of grace, God's invitation, God's Word, heap abuse, holy city, holy spirit, horrific winter, hunger nor thirst, I come quickly, ice storm, infinite wisdom, Israel, Jacob's Well, Jesus, Jew, litany of woes, living water, Lord jesus, loving kindness, magnanimous god, mind-boggling, molly-cuddle, multitude, New Jerusalem, northern climes, offspring, palm branches, plagues, pour water on who thirsts, prophecy, repercussions, Revelation, right and wrong, Samaritan, shepherd. living fountains of water, sigh of relief, snow, snow belt, spring, substraction, testify, thanks and praise, the gift of God, the greatest, the Lamb, the Spirit of God, the throne of God, the water of life, thumbs up, too late, Toronto and environs, tribulations, warning, we bless your holy name, we Love you Lord, white robes, whoever is thirsty, winter weather, wipe away all tears, wisdom, without money, without price
Isaiah 55:1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Oh Friends, we’re going to begin this morning by giving our wonderful God some thanks and praise for His infinite wisdom and LOVING-kindness to us up here in the northern climes, in particular Toronto and its environs. Why you ask?
Remember how we’ve been complaining about the terrible winter weather and the great amounts of snow piled up all around, wondering where we’d put it if any more fell, and also about spring taking long to come?
Well mih people, spring still isn’t here on a consistent basis, but there’s been method to the Lord’s madness, meaning that there’s hardly any snow on the ground now, and the Lord in His wisdom, compassion and consideration for us did it slowly. That’s why we’d have a day of warmish weather, then some cold ones.
All to allow the snow to melt a little at a time, because if He had allowed it all to melt at once, we’d surely be adding floods to our litany of woes; abundant ice and snow and bitterly cold temps for far too long. Some people and places have not even fully recovered from the ice storm, can you imagine if there were floods to add to their tribulations.
So all you people who live in the snow belt, please give the Lord a big thumbs up for bringing us down easy after such a horrific winter. And all God’s people uttered a huge sigh of relief, then let loose with an astounding voice of praise. ‘Thank You Father for looking after us! You are indeed the GREATEST! We LOVE You Lord and bless Your Holy Name, today and for ever more! Amen!’
Yes my brethren, I don’t know about you all nuh, but I am eternally grateful, for with the three or four feet of snow on my back deck, my backyard and by the side of my driveway, I don’t know what I would have done if it had all melted at once. At least I can now see some of the grass in my backyard, and some of the floor boards on my deck.
That’s why Friends it’s so disturbing and mind-boggling that people constantly ignore, and even heap abuse on our magnanimous God and His free gift of grace as outlined in our Bit. ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.’
Today’s the last day for this Bit, and I’m not going to get into any arguments over it or try to change anyone’s mind. We have done enough of that over the last few days, and if people aren’t wise enough to accept God’s invitation, then too bad for them. We shouldn’t have to brow beat people, or molly-cuddle them. The Lord gave us all the ability to make choices and also showed us what’s right from what’s wrong. We’ll just have to live with the repercussions of our decisions.
Today we’ll just quote a few more scriptures that deal with the living water, the Holy Spirit, which Jesus promises to every one who believes in Him. And the first scripture comes from Jesus’ opening parry with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. She obviously was most surprised when Jesus, a Jew, asked her, a Samaritan for a drink, since Jews despised Samaritans and had nothing to do with them.
‘Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.’ (John 4:10) And we already know how that story eventually panned out.
The next scripture comes from Isaiah, some chapters before our Bit, where he is also promising that the Spirit of God would be upon Israel. ”Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground:
I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring; and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses. One shall say, I am the Lord’s; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord (write with his hand, the Lord’s), and surname himself by the name of Israel.’ (Is.44:2-5)
Then in Revelation, where the numberless multitude stand before the throne of God and the Lamb, clothed in white robes, holding palm branches, serving the Lord day and night, having borne great tribulations, (Rev. 7:9-14) John reveals: ‘They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on (strike) them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed (shepherd) them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears (every tear) from their eyes.’ (Rev.7:16-17)
And finally, from Revelation again, John concludes: ‘And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst (thirst) come. And whosoever will (desires), let him take the water of life freely. for I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things (Jesus) saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.’ (Rev.22:17-21)
Oh Friends, that says it all! It’s a serious warning against distortion and subtraction of God’s Word!
And per the scholars: ‘Anyone who wilfully distorts the message of the Book of Revelation shows himself not to be a genuine believer and will not participate in eternal life or the blessings of the New Jerusalem.’
So please my brethren, consider ourselves warned. Much LOVE!
…to believe or not to believe…that is the question…and the choice must be made NOW…for when Jesus comes again, it will be too late…
20 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a limited mindset, act positively, affirmation, affliction, anger, asaph, barrier breaker, beautifully, belief, believe it to see it, blasphemed, bountifully, break free, capacity for forgiveness, compassion, Controller, Creator of the universe, destiny, destroyed them not, disobedience, do battle in Jesus' name, don't be foolish, ear to hear, enlarge my vision, evil society, experience god's favour, extreme weather patterns, forgiveness, furnace of affliction, give the Lord a shout of praise, God is deserving of praise, God's fulfilling his purpose, God's glory, good to be alive, goodness, gospel truth, grateful, heed the warning, I am also the last, I am the first, idols, in every area of my life, iniquity, Isaiah, Israel, jehovah god, Joel Osteen, John Hagee, learning the lesson, LOVE, loving kindness, man-made gods, marvels, mercy, miracles, negativity, Nth degree, omnipotent god, pay a substanial price, potential, praise, prayer, prayer of affirmation, profaned, Psalm 78, raise the level of belief in Jesus Christ, rebellion, reminder of god's goodness to Israel, righteousness., seeds of greatness, sinful, sinfulness, sing God's praises, talent, tested, Today is my day, uncontainable, ungodly, untold strife, vice-like grip, walking in God's holy will, warning, wicked, wicked world, wisdom, worship, wrath
Psalm 78:38. But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.
Oh Friends, neighbours, fellow believers and unbelievers, it sure is good to be alive! Especially when you wake up feeling bright and fresh and ready to do battle in Jesus’ name!
Wow! As Uncle John, John Hagee would say: ‘Give the Lord a shout of praise in the house of the Lord!’
And our God sure is deserving of much praise my people, for all the goodness and mercy He has bestowed, is currently bestowing and has faithfully promised to bestow in the future on those who sincerely LOVE and worship Him.
And I don’t know about anybody else nuh Friends, but I can only sing His praises and give Him much thanks for working so bountifully and beautifully in my life!
Today though, I want to share a prayer of affirmation I recently got from Bubba Joel, Joel Osteen. Those of you who deal with him, would probably have gotten it too, but it’s surely worthwhile sharing.
So please say, sincerely affirm with me that: ‘TODAY IS MY DAY! God has destined me to be a barrier breaker! He created me to be uncontainable. I have talent and potential given to me by the Creator of the universe. There are seeds of greatness inside of me.
Today, I choose to break free from a limited mindset and enlarge my vision. Today, God is taking me places that I’ve never dreamed of before. Today, God is fulfilling His purpose and destiny in my life. Today, I will experience His favour like never before in every area of my life.’
And all that is gospel truth my people! We just need to believe it, and then act positively on that belief!
Please note my brethren that almost everything in this life is about BELIEF! As they say, if you don’t believe it, you most likely won’t see it.
So mih breddren, let’s all raise the level of our belief in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ this Thursday morning nuh, so that we can see Him work His wonderful marvels and miracles in our lives.
And in keeping with the marvellous wonder and LOVING-kindness of our omnipotent God, let’s turn to our Bit, which shows His exceedingly great capacity for forgiveness.
‘But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.’
Oh my people, we had better be exceedingly grateful that the Lord has so far withheld the magnitude of His anger on this sinful, ungodly, wicked and evil society in which we now dwell.
But, unfortunately, we haven’t been learning the lesson, and we’re now seeing flashes of that anger in things like the extreme and inconsistent weather patterns that have been recently plaguing us, as well as the untold strife and negativity that has our world in its powerful, vice-like grip.
And please, please don’t be foolish and think that God doesn’t have a hand in it all, because HE IS the Creator and the ultimate Controller of EVERYTHING in the universe!
And just like Psalm 78, from the pen of Asaph, is a reminder of God’s goodness to Israel, please let this Bit be a reminder to us of God’s unfailing goodness and mercy when we were diligently and sincerely walking in His holy will.
Oh my brethren, do we truly want to feel the full wrath of our God? Definitely not! But we will eventually, if we continue in our wilful disobedience and rebellion, just like Israel did on several occasions when they turned away from worshipping Jehovah God and instead bowed down to man-made gods and idols.
And we’ll close with a serious warning from the Lord our God, given to Israel when He rebuked them through the testimony of Isaiah. ‘For my name’s sake will I defer (delay) mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain (restrain) for thee, that I cut thee not off (destroy thee not).
Behold, I have refined thee, but not with (as) silver; I have chosen (tested) thee in the furnace of affliction. For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted (profaned)? and I will not give my glory to another. Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.’ (Is.48:9-12)
Oh Friends, I desperately plead with us to heed that warning, because it also applies to us in our sinfulness today! Yes, our God will refrain from destroying us – but only for a time – NOT FOREVER! He couldn’t do that and still be true to His holy and just self.
Please note too, that He’s chosen the fire of affliction to test us through, and He has made it very clear that HE WILL NOT allow His holy name to be profaned, sullied, polluted and/or blasphemed. And above all, HE WILL NOT GIVE HIS GLORY to any other supposed god!
Please, let’s keep these things at the forefront of our minds today, and everyday, as we go out into the wicked world that surrounds us, and diligently endeavour to decrease that wickedness and increase righteousness, so that we will not have to endure God’s wrath.
That my people, is wisdom to the Nth degree! Much LOVE!
…he who who has an ear to hear…let him be wise and hear…else he will pay a substantial price for his disobedience…
05 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Ash Wednesday, beat up ourselves, bewail our misery, by faith, come of age, compromise our godly beliefs, corroded silver and gold, deceitful, demons, displeasure, divine blessings, ears of the Lord of hosts, eat your flesh, Egypt, enjoying life, eschew pleasure, face the problem squarely, faith, fattened hearts, fire, for a season, forgiven, forgiveness, forgotten, foundational faith, fraud, generous, graceful aplomb, gratifying, grounding belief, haunt us all our lives, he that loves pleasure, he that loves wine and oil, hearsay, indulgence, indulgent, jehovah god, Jesus fasted, Lent, less than stellar perfomance, LOVETH, Lucifer, Lucifer tempted Jesus, luxurious living, man-made idol, merciful, Moses, moth-eaten garments, partying, passing pleasures, personal experience, physically alive, pleasure, pleasure centres, poor, pull up our breeches, pursuit of fleeting pleasure, reap displeasure, recompense, reproach of Christ, reward, rich, rotted riches, sanctity, satisfying, serve only Him, serve pleasure, sin, sincere repentance, sinful nature, sinful pleasures, sinful world, son of Pharaoh's daughter, spiritually dead, stand our bounce, suffer affliction, take responsibility, temptations, the last days, treasure, true reflection, truth, ultimate in wisdom, wanton, warning, well deserved break, witness, worship the Lord thy God, worth
Proverbs 21:17. He that LOVETH pleasure shall be a poor man: he that LOVETH wine and oil shall not be rich
ASH WEDNESDAY !
Well Friends, the partying done now! Yes, it’s Ash Wednesday morning, the first day of Lent, so I hope that you exercised and exorcised all your pleasure demons over the last few days of serious partying. (smile) That’s because now is a time to settle down, a time for serious reflection on our relationships, especially between God and us.
Lent is the time to look deep into our souls and examine what we truly believe, and consequently how we live our lives, based on our grounding belief, our foundational faith, for all of us have faith in something, hopefully Jehovah God, and not man or some man-made idol.
Anyway, this season of Lent is a serious time, and we ought to seriously consider how we live our lives, giving the pleasure centres of our bodies and souls a well-deserved break. Hn, hn!
Now that doesn’t mean we ought to stop enjoying life, or eschew all pleasure, but rather not let the pleasures of life be all that important. Instead, let’s contemplate on how Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness and how Lucifer tempted Him, tried his very best to get Him to go against God’s will.
And in light of that, let’s see what temptations have been coming against us, and how we’ve been handling them, hopefully with graceful aplomb like Jesus, telling the deceitful fool Lucifer: ‘Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.’ (Matt.4:10)
And we all know my brethren, that that’s truth of the highest order! But that doesn’t stop the ole scoundrel from continually snapping at our heels, especially in one soft and weak area of our sinful nature, that of pleasure.
That’s why Cousin Sol declared so profoundly unto us, the words of our Bit. ‘He that LOVETH pleasure shall be a poor man: he that LOVETH wine and oil shall not be rich.’
And unfortunately, I know that Lucifer has a wide grin on his evil, devilish face this Ash Wednesday morning, because over the last few days, he’s managed to get many of us to compromise our godly beliefs in the pursuit of fleeting worldly pleasure.
But please remember that ALL of it can be forgiven, though only some forgotten, and a lot of it will haunt us for the remainder of our lives. There will always be some reminder of our less than stellar performance during that period.
The important thing though is not to beat up ourselves and continually bewail our misery over it, since that portion of our lives cannot be relived, and our mistake(s) be undone. And this wisdom comes from personal experience, not hearsay. We need to come to God in sincere repentance, ask for His merciful and generous forgiveness, then face the problem squarely; stand our bounce.
That’s one thing I’ve always tried to drive into my children’s head from they were young, and try to practice it myself. If you’ve done something wrong, be man or woman enough to take the responsibility for it.
And after all that ‘sermonizing’, (smile) let’s look at some scriptures that uphold the truth of our Bit. And we’ll begin with some instructive words of Bruh Paul to Timothy, re widows. ‘But she that liveth in pleasure (indulgence) is dead while she liveth.’ (1 Tim.5:6)
And the scholars’ note says: ‘5:6. This may be paraphrased, “But the widow who indulges in luxurious living, though physically alive, is spiritually dead.”
And I just want to point out here my people, that that statement also applies to widowers, in fact to all and sundry, because once we’ve allowed earthly indulgences to control our lives, we do become spiritually dead.
Then in Hebrews 11, that great chapter on faith, in talking about Moses, the author proclaims: ‘By faith, Moses, when he was come to years (came of age), refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures (passing pleasures) of sin for a season;
Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasure in Egypt: for he had respect unto (looked at) the recompense of the reward.’ (Heb.11:24-26)
Yes my brethren, likewise, we are to shun the calling of the pleasures of sin, and esteem the reproach of Christ of greater sanctity and worth than that of the world.
And we’ll let James take us home with his very voluble and valuable warning to the rich. ‘Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted (have rotted), and your garments are moth-eaten.
Your gold and silver is cankered (corroded): and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for (in) the last days.
Behold, the hire (wages) of the labourers who have reaped (mowed) down your fields, which is of you (you kept back) by fraud, crieth (cry out): and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth (Hosts).
Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton (indulgent); ye have nourished (fattened) your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.’ (James 5:1-6)
Yeh Friends, that’s the way it goes! All our riches, garnered on the backs of those unfairly treated will eventually rot and be of no use to us. We who have lived to serve pleasure, will in the end reap displeasure!
So please, as true believers, let’s wake up and see unrestrained pleasure for what it really is nuh – an unwise and foolish means of moving away from Jehovah God to the sinful camp of Beelzebub.
Now is that what we really and truly want to do? I sincerely doubt it. So please, let’s pull up our ‘britches’ (breeches) nuh, and stop allowing the sinful pleasures of our sinful world to control our lives. Now that’s the ultimate in wisdom! Much LOVE!
…Cousin Sol had it all…wisdom, wealth and time…but found no satisfying, gratifying, or long lasting pleasure…in the worldly pleasures his divine blessings afforded him…
04 Mar 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: after one time is two, apostasy, archives of our memory, awesome truth, bacchanalian festival, bear fruit for Jesus, blasphemers, blazing sunshine, blessings, boasters, Bruh Paul, cares and riches, Carnival, Christ's return, cold weather, conclusion, corrupt minds, Cousin Sol, covetous, crescendo, deathly cold morning, disobedient, divers lusts, down south, faith, false teachers, fleeting pleasures of the world, folly, foolishness, fruit, futile, God's Word, godliness, good memories, gospel true, haughty, he who loves pleasure, he who loves wine and oil, I AM, in the hot sun, injustice, Jesus Christ, knowledge of the truth, life experiment, LOVE, lovers of God, lovers of pleasure, LOVETH, mas, maturity, meaningless, memories of carnival, merriment, Moses, neck of the woods, New Orleans, no self-control, northern climes, parable of the sower, perilous times, physcial warmth, playing mas, profound, proud, quest for truth, reckless, religion without power, reprobate, resist the truth, rewards in heaven, Rio, ruin, shall be a poor man, shall not be rich, silly women, sinful minions, slanderers, spiritual life, splendour of costumes, spontaneity of action, T&T, thanks and praise, the church age, the Good Lord, the last days, thrown to the wind, Timothy, unsatisfying, vain, warning, wine women and song, wisdom
Proverbs 21:17. He that LOVETH pleasure shall be a poor man: he that LOVETH wine and oil shall not be rich.
And the raging, unforgiving, unrepentant cold weather continues unabated in the northern climes, while down south, under blazing sunshine, mas and merriment are being joyfully made! What injustice! (smile)
But that’s the way the great I AM planned and created His awesome universe, so who are we, his sinful minions to dispute His higher than high ways, wisdom and understanding eh?
Yes Friends, it’s another deathly cold morning in my neck of the woods, while later today, down in Rio, New Orleans, T&T and wherever else, the crescendo of carnival is building up to its climax on the final day of the bacchanalian festival.
Oh that I was somewhere down there to enjoy the physical warmth, the splendour of the costumes, the joy, the spontaneity of action when the music blasts into your soul!
Oh Friends, there’s no feeling like playing mas in the hot sun, with the music, be it brass or steel, just jamming, and you singing and jumping to the high heavens! Ah Lord eh!
That’s why I keep reminding us to make good memories, because that’s all the ole fella has now – memories of carnival in yesteryear, when he made a fool of himself… oh but what enjoyable foolishness! (smile)
But as they so rightly and wisely say, after one time is two times. So all we ole fogeys who can’t jump and prance again, just have to delve into the archives of our memory and retrieve the good ones of a time when we were much less physically and mentally challenged. Hn, hn!
And at the same time, let’s all remember to give the Good Lord some thanks and praise for bringing us so far along into this life, and blessing us with all the blessings that so many others never received.
But my people, please, please never forget these extremely wise, very profound and gospel true words of our Bit: ‘He that LOVETH pleasure shall be a poor man: he that LOVETH wine and oil shall not be rich.’ It’s the awesome, awesome truth!
And we saw that yesterday, saw how Cousin Sol proved it with his great life experiment. (Eccl.2:1-11) And also as the scholars so wisely noted, that three thousand years after Cousin Sol’s empirical and factual conclusion to the contrary, mankind is still trying to find satisfaction and meaning in the unsatisfying, meaningless and fleeting good feelings of the pleasures of the world.
Yes my brethren, wine, women and song are pleasurable for the moment, but they have nothing of real and true lasting value. Only the things of God have true lasting value, can stand the test of time and the fire that our deeds will be eventually tested with.
So let’s now see what the scriptures have to say re Cousin Sol’s pronouncement that seeking a life of earthly pleasure is vain and futile.
And no words can be more telling than those of our Leader, Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! Listen to Him as He talks about the parable of the sower, explaining what happens to the seeds that fall in different places when they are thrown to the wind.
‘And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection (maturity).’ (Luke 8:14)
Oh my fellow believers, if we’re only concerned with the cares, riches and pleasures of this world, we’ll NEVER bear fruit for Jesus! And thus our rewards in heaven, if we do get there, will be severely limited.
Now, are you willing to take the chance on any of those two scenarios happening in your life? I certainly hope not! For as Bruh Paul warns Timothy about the apostasy of the last days.
‘This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be LOVERS of their own selves, covetous (money lovers), boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers (irreconcilable), false accusers (slanderers), incontinent (without self-control), fierce (brutal), despisers of those that are good,
Traitors, heady (reckless), high-minded (haughty), LOVERS of pleasures more than (rather than) LOVERS of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts.
Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate (disapproved) concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.’ (2 Tim.3:1-9)
Oh Friends, I couldn’t say it any better than Bruh Paul! But there are some words from the scholars that I think are important for us to know, although it will make the Bit longer. But what are a few more words when they help us to understand God’s Word eh? (smile)
And the scholars declare: ‘3:1-4. The last days began with the birth of Christ and will culminate in Christ’s return to the earth to set up His kingdom. The prediction of perilous times indicate that apostasy will characterize the final days of the church age.’
‘3:5-9. A form of godliness is mere religion without power or spiritual life. Paul commands Timothy to turn away from these false teachers who prey upon silly women laden with sins, who are especially susceptible to false teachers.
Ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth condemns not intense study but some esoteric quest for truth apart from God’s Word. Jannes and Jambres, according to Jewish tradition, were the two magicians in Pharaoh’s court who attempted to duplicate Moses’ miracles (cf. (Ex. 7:11; 9:11).’
So Friends, it’s obvious that our total concentration on the pleasures of this world, only leads us to ruin! And daily we see lots of evidence of it around us. So please, I’m pleading with us, let’s all take serious note of it nuh, and consequently restructure and conduct our lives in a more appropriate fashion, one that suits true believers. Now that’s wisdom in spades! Much LOVE!
…he who LOVES the pleasures of this world…will not receive much LOVE from heaven…
26 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adversity, adviser, applicable to our situation, Asa, Azariah, Balaam, be strong, bless, blessing, Canaan, cedar trees, Christian faith, circumstances, cursing, dark night, do good, dwell in us, Egypt, enchantments, enemies, enlighten, eternity, fickle, foes, forsake God, fulfill the dreams, giving thanks and praise, God's awesome power, God's kingdom shall be exalted, grin and bear it, Guide, guiding, heaven, heavenly Father, help others, holy spirit, Holy Trinity, indelible ink, Israel, Jesus, Jesus' commission, Judah, leading, light of jesus, lign aloes, live our faith, LOVE, Love God, nation destroying nation, no peace, no precipitation, Old Testament, opportunity, parable, pathways of life, peace, plan and purpose, predictions, principle still stands, rise of the monarchy, saw the light, serve God and Lucifer, sorcery, Spread God's Word, stand strong and steadfast, still small voice, stray from the straight and narrow path, strength of a unicorn, sun-shiny day, the Spirit of God, the words of god, them's the breaks, trance, trouble, turmoil, vexation, victories, vision of the Almighty, visionary, walking worthy of God, warning, weather, wisdom, worldwide turmoil, your work shall be rewarded
2 Chronicles 15:1. And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded.
Well Friends, it’s shaping up to be a beautiful sun-shiny day in my area, even though the high is scheduled to be around minus 10 degrees Celsius. But despite the chilliness of the weather, we’re still giving thanks and praise to Almighty God for all that we have. Thankfully there ought to be bright sunshine with no precipitation. And that’s the most important part; no precipitation! (smile)
So Friends, wherever you are, whatever your circumstances, and whatever the weather is like, please thank and praise our heavenly Father for bringing you safely through another dark night into the day filled with the LIGHT of His most wonderful Son, Jesus.
And all God’s people loudly and gratefully declared: ‘All praise and glory be to the Lamb of God, who sacrificed His holy and sinless life for our sinful souls!’
And in doing so my brethren, Jesus set in motion the process for the third party of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit, to come into our lives and dwell with us continually, as guide and adviser.
Unfortunately, the people in the Old Testament, those who came before Jesus, didn’t have that wonderful opportunity. In those times, when needed, the Lord chose special people to bless with His Holy Spirit, to enlighten His people on whatever He desired them to know or do. And our Bit tells us of one such occasion. ‘And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded.’
Now yesterday we saw where the Lord’s Spirit led Azariah to come before king Asa and the people of Judah, and tell them about seeking the Lord and finding Him, and being forsaken by Him, if they forsook Him. (2 Chr.15:2-4) And that principle still stands today my people! If we forsake God, like we’re doing, how can we expect Him to bless us eh?
Now today I want to continue the scripture re Azariah’s warning to Asa and the people of Judah, because I think it’s very applicable to our current situation.
‘And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations (turmoil) were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. And nation was destroyed of (by) nation, and city of city: for God did vex (trouble) them with all adversity. Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.’ (Num.15:5-7)
Yes my people, in our present time, there is little, if any peace amongst us. Too many of us are undergoing personal turmoil. Likewise our families are battling each other like never before. And we won’t talk about the turmoil within the different societies, neither that seemingly unending turmoil between societies. So in actual fact, our world is much more connected to a state of turmoil, than one of peace and LOVE.
Now that is definitely not a very good situation my brethren, however, as the last verse there stated, in spite of the worldwide turmoil, we believers ought to stand strong and steadfast in our Christian faith, for eventually, as Jesus has so generously and faithfully promised, our diligent work in His Name will be eventually rewarded.
So please my fellow believers, let’s write that deep within our souls nuh, in indelible ink, so that we don’t forget or mistakenly erase it, and simply keep doing what Jesus has commissioned us to do; LOVE our God, ourselves and our neighbours, SPREAD His Holy Word, and LIVE our Faith, by doing good and helping others.
I also want to revisit the other instance of the Holy Spirit coming upon an individual that we spoke of yesterday. That’s Balaam, the prophet who tried to serve both God and Lucifer at the same time, which is impossible. We saw yesterday, where he finally realized that his enchantments and sorcery weren’t working, they were no match for God’s awesome power.
‘And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.’ (Num. 24:2)
And the scholars’ explain that verse thus. ’24:2. And the spirit of God came upon him: Previously God had put a word in Balaam’s mouth (23:5,16). This phrase in verse 2 is not just a stylistic variation, but suggests that this time Balaam fell into a trance as verses 3 and 4 indicate.’
Now hear Balaam after that. ‘And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open (opened) hath said: He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.
God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of a unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.’ (Num.24:3-9)
Yes Friends, Balaam finally saw the light with his ‘visionary predictions of Israel’s future settlement in Canaan, the rise of the monarchy, and victories over specific foes.’ (scholars’ note).
Oh my fellow believers, just like the Lord used His Holy Spirit to enlighten the fickle Balaam, He’s using it today to also enlighten us, re His plan and purpose for our lives, plus leading and guiding us along the rough pathways of life, so that we can fulfill the dreams He’s placed in our hearts, while walking worthy of Him.
Friends, please listen to that still small voice that speaks to us from deep within, for it is the Spirit of God. That’s wisdom, for now and all eternity! Much LOVE!
…when we listen to God’s voice within us…we won’t stray from the straight and narrow path…which to leads to heaven… and to Jesus…
P.S. It’s a tad long and a bit late, but them’s the breaks, just grin and bear it. (smile) Much LOVE!
25 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all powerful God, angel of the Lord, Asa, Azariah, Balaam, be happy, be very thankful, being close to, bless Israel, Creator, Cuddle Day, daily basis, dangerous, disobedience, don't worry, embracing another, enchantments, faithful God, find God, forsake, fortunate, generously blessed, give much praise, godless world, godly attitude, graciously, great reason, guidance, happiness, Happy Tuesday, heavenly wsidom, helpful God, holy spirit, improvement, Israel, jehovah god, Jesus, joy, joy and happiness, jump for joy, Lord god of Israel, LOVE, lovingly, magnanimous god, Mammon, mercifully, obedience to God's will, of no avail, Old Testament, play both sides against the middle, provider, radiate joy and happiness, rebellion, righteousness., sacrificial and reconciling actions, second thoughts, seek God, serve two masters, shout, significant sign, sincerely, sinful society, sorcery, Spirit of God, spread LOVE, thanks and praise, the breath of life, the Good Book, the LOVE of God, the voice of God, to sing, trouble, true believers in Christ, true God, unfortunate circumstances, ungodliness, wanton sinfulness, warning, wicked times, wise attitude
2 Chronicles 15:1. And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded.
Oh Friends, it’s Happy Tuesday! And everybody looks at me like I’m crazy or something. Well it is Tuesday, and as true believers in Christ, we ought to be full of joy and happiness. So doesn’t that qualify today as Joyful and Happy Tuesday? Well to my simple mind it does!
Just having the breath of life flowing through us, being granted it so mercifully, graciously and LOVINGLY by an all- powerful God, is great reason to sing, shout, jump for joy, give much praise and be very thankful!
As the once popular song so truthfully advised: ‘Don’t worry, be happy!’ And that’s exactly what many of us supposed believers ought to be doing; concentrating on our wonderful and magnanimous God, instead of our unfortunate circumstances.
For being worried and anxious about the circumstances is not going to solve them, but sincerely communicating with our great Creator and most generous Provider will help us do just that.
Oh by the way Friends, I also understand that today is Cuddle Day…Yeah! So please show someone or ones that you care by cuddling with them, not only today, but everyday, if possible, since there’s nothing that shows the LOVE of God, more than being close to, embracing another of God’s most beautiful creation.
Although, right now, through our boldfaced disobedience, rebellion and ungodliness, I’m sure He’s having second thoughts about us being His most wonderful creation.
However, to try and correct that opinion, let’s go out today and spread some LOVE nuh! Let’s radiate joy and happiness, while giving Jehovah God thanks and praise for all the undeserved goodness and LOVING-kindness with which He’s so generously blessed us.
And furthermore mih people, if we adopt that wise attitude and try to practice it on a daily basis, there’ll be such a wonderful improvement in our lives and the world around us, that we’ll be somewhat annoyed with ourselves for not adopting that friendly and godly attitude long before.
Now let me go and seek an appropriate Bit, because that rambling preamble is just what the Spirit filled me with as I came downstairs to begin writing. (smile)
Oh mih people, mih people, that didn’t take long at all! I just opened the Good Book at an arbitrary spot, and behold, the first words I read were: ‘And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded.’
Wow! What a faithful and helpful God! Not only nowadays, but from since the beginning of time! Back then though, under crucial and critical circumstances, He sent His Holy Spirit upon certain individuals, so that they could deliver His message to the people at large.
And today we’ll look at a couple of examples from the Old Testament, of the Lord working in that manner. And on the particular occasion referred to in our Bit, the Lord sent the king of Israel His warning through the prophet Azariah.
‘And he went out to meet (before) Asa, 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 trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.’ (2 Chr.15:2-4)
Oh my brethren, how many, many times do we read that in the Good Book eh? Whenever a sinful society sincerely sought the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, they ALWAYS FOUND HIM! But the operative word there is SINCERELY.
Now Friends, I believe that’s a very significant sign for us in this godless world of today. We desperately need to SINCERELY seek the face and ears of our omnipotent God, before He destroys us for our wanton sinfulness, gross disobedience and unashamed ungodliness.
Now let’s check out another instance of God’s Holy Spirit coming upon an Old Testament individual. This is about the zigzag prophet Balaam, the one who tried to play both ends against the middle, to simultaneously work for God and Beelzebub. (Num.22-24)
And that we know is impossible as Jesus so wisely informs us. ‘No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and LOVE the other; or else he will hold (be loyal) to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.’ (Matt.6:24)
And we all ought to pay special attention to that my brethren, because oftimes, we are indeed trying to do just that, albeit unconsciously.
But getting back to Balaam. This time the Lord showed him the error of his ways, causing him to foretell Israel’s happiness to their enemies. ‘And when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments (to use sorcery or enchantments), but he set his face towards the wilderness.’ (Num. 24:1)
Ah Friends, yuh see how it is when we try to serve God and mammon at the same time.
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ’24:1. Saw that it pleased… went not as at other times, to seek for enchantments: He had not perceived “the angel of the Lord” standing in the way (Num.22:21-32), but he now perceived his enchantments were of no avail. At other times expresses what had been his habit, which extends to his lifestyle, not just the first two times in this account.’
Then the Good Book continues: ‘And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents, according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.’ (Num.24:2)
Now we won’t get into what Balaam said and did after that, because it would make the Bit much too long. (smile) But we will note how fortunate we are in these dangerous and wicked times to have God’s Holy Spirit continually dwelling within us, through Jesus’ sacrificial and reconciling actions.
Now please my fellow believers, let’s use it for the purpose for which it was provided; to lead and guide us in all righteousness and obedience to God’s will. That’s heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…to divine God’s guidance for your life…listen closely to the voice of His Spirit within you…
Previous Older Entries Next Newer Entries
SCRIP-BITS 