The Necessity for Christians to Keep Reassuring and Encouraging Themselves of God’s Providence and Provision!

31 Oct 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Isaiah 40:1.        Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

Ah friends, the ole fella had a rather late night, thus he also had a rather late morning. (smile) Consequently, we are on the late bus this Friday October 31, or Halloween Day, when all the evil spirits and people come out to play the trick or treat game. But that’s a topic for another day, not this wet, cloudy, windy Friday, where we’ve offered up our acclamation of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ which means the weekend is upon us, those two short days we have for ourselves; to rest, recuperate and have some fun, before getting back to the daily grind and common task. 

Ah well, that’s just the way life is, for once up a time, and it’s not so long ago that many people worked seven days a week, with a day off once in a while. Thankfully our situation has improved some, although the greedy employers would like nothing better, and indeed are trying their best to drag us back into the medieval times where we had absolutely no rights nor privileges. But we won’t ever allow that to happen, for too much innocent blood has ben shed to get us to where we are today, to ever revert to such an inhumane and ungodly situation. And all God’s children said a loud and proud, ‘Amen!’ 

And I’m chuckling here, because I don’t know where that all came from because it’s not Labour Day or anything of the sort, but I guess the Good Lord just wanted us to be reminded of our previous struggles and have us understand that He will continue empowering us to stand up and fight the aggressive and evil enemy. It’s like Isaiah promised on the Lord’s behalf. ‘Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God…Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand (in strength), and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work (wage) before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.’ (Is. 40:1;10-11) 

Yes friends, that’s one of the many promises of our God to be with us at all times and look after us. And Jesus embodied that promise in Himself when He subsequently declared: ‘I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep…I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.’ (John 10:11;14) It’s like the author of Hebrews also reminds us: ‘Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall (can) do unto me.’ (Heb. 13:5) 

Now that’s a most powerful acclamation of our faith, and hopefully we all will stand strong in it, because our God is ever-faithful to keep His promises. As he said to Jacob, when he dreamed that famous, mind-boggling, but life changing dream (Gen. 28:10-14) ‘And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.’ (Gen. 28:15) And we all know that the Lord kept His promise to Jacob. 

It’s also like Moses said to the Israelites on God’s behalf: ‘Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Deut. 31:6) And that promise was also kept, except for the times when Israel rebelled against the Lord and suffered the dire consequences of such rebellion and disobedience. But all in all, Israel had it pretty good. For as Bruh Paul warns us in his letter to 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 one of the most important scriptures for Christians to know and understand. The Lord will keep His promises and look after us, and eventually all things will work out for our good. But we need to thoroughly understand that life, especially the Christian life is not a bed of roses, but can often be a tough slog, especially when the enemy comes against us in Christ’s name, or when the Lord Himself tests us. So it’s ever so necessary to keep in mind these most reassuring and encouraging words of Jesus. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) 

And all that’s the gospel truth, my fellow believers, but it’s not easy to put into practice. That’s why we need to keep on growing in our faith, through reading and meditating on the Word, through fellowship with other believers and sincere prayer time with the Father. And our God is so wonderful, that through Jesus’ sacrifice, we can now go directly to the throne of grace seeking divine help. So let’s do that right now nuh, through our Friday Chant. 

All together: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough…  because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. 

We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

And we’ve prayed a good prayer, but there’s one flaw in it; if the new flock of believers are like us, then they won’t be of much use, because our current Christian witness is not up to scratch. That means we have to improve, if we truly desire divine aid! So let’s get to it nuh. The Lord is waiting with bated breath to shower down blessings on us…when we improve our witness, by spreading our highly flavoured salt far and wide, and shining our lights much brighter in the many dark places of the earth. Much LOVE!

…walking with the Lord is a two way street…He’s kept all His promises…now we need to do our part…  

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   5 December 2022 Hebrews 13:6.

05 Dec 2022 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hebrews 13:6.       So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall (can) do unto me.

And then it was Monday once again! That continuously recurring first day of the workweek which causes our frustrations to rise to abnormal and unnecessary levels! (smile) Yes, although we know the right way to handle Mondays, it still often gets the better of us. So what do we do about it eh? 

Simple! With the Lord’s help, make better preparations and come to terms with the fact that once we are in the work force, after a short weekend break, Monday will come around every week and require us to get back out into the evil and ungodly world and walk our walk for Christ, which in itself will undoubtedly cause us some problems, since the world is not very receptive to Christ at this particular period in time. 

But the good news is that our Lord and Saviour will never ask us to do anything and then leave us in the lurch to do it alone. Of course not! He always gives us the necessary tools, anoints us to do whatever He requires, which means we ought not to get overly frustrated and disappointed when problems come against us. Please remember this magnificent and ever so encouraging scripture that we’ve been talking about the last few days: ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me!‘ (Phil. 4:13) 

Now, if you sincerely believe in Christ Jesus then that ought to be a foundational scripture in your repertoire, indelibly written in your spirit, to draw from for spiritual support, whenever the need arises. Oh friends, it’s of the utmost necessity that we have a bunch of scriptures at the ready for when problems come upon us. But we cannot ever get our repertoire sufficiently enlarged without constantly perusing and meditating on the Word. 

Please remember that the Bible is God’s Word to us, and it’s still fresh through all the ages. Therefore, if we read it, we will find God’s wisdom on its pages. And there’s no better example of that than the directive the Lord gave to Joshua when He appointed him leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses. 

‘This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth (be constantly in thy mouth); but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have I not 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. 1:8-9) 

Oh my faithful brethren, those are some of the most profound and wise words in the scriptures. And so they should be, if they were uttered by the Lord Himself. And yuh know what? Those words were not meant to apply to only Joshua, but to ALL God’s children, right down through the ages! 

And if you are a child of God, sincerely studying His Word is the only way to grow in spiritual maturity and strength; to have no fear of what the world can do to you, because your heavenly Father is with you all the time. Don’t forget He has also promised: ‘I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall (can) do unto me.’ (Heb. 13:5-6) 

And it’s ever so true that lack of knowledge of the Bible is a big cause of the fear that so many of us feel as we go through our everyday lives. You’ll surely notice that when we have the Word buried deep in our hearts and souls, then we walk with a spring in our stride, with pep in our step, because we are confident of what Psalm 91 says. ‘Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation (dwelling place); There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh (near) thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 

They shall bear (lift) thee up in their hands, lest thou dash (strike) thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder (cobra): the young lion and the dragon (serpent) shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his LOVE upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. he shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.’ (Ps. 91:9-16) 

Oh my fellow saints that’s what we have to look forward to when we faithfully adhere to the Lord and His Word. Now, let’s promise each other to pull up our socks and do better because better must come, and it will only come through God’s people, by us rising to the challenges we face! And for help to do that, let’s approach the throne of grace, and through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, plead our case. 

Altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.  

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’

Now, if we want to see a positive response then we’ve got to clean up our act, including the motives of our hearts. Much LOVE!

…promises, promises, promises…man’s are made to be broken…but God’s are ALWAYS fulfilled… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ