25 Aug 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a refresher course, a sense of urgency, able to withstand, against principalities, avail ourselves of God's provision, be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, be strong in the Lord, common sense, conquer Monday, demonic onslaughts, demons, departed from him for a season, destroy our Christian witness, divine aid, efficient weapons, evil schemes of Satan, face a formidable foe, faith, faithfully promised, fallen angels, flesh and blood, flex our muscles, hand to hand combat, have the victory through Christ, having done all to stand, holy spirit, humble servants, immediate action, in the evil day, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, keep the ball rolling, life-saving obligation, logic, LOVE, meat and potatoes, mercy, never give up, never say die, powers, pray, proper protection, put on the whole armour of God, resist the enemy, salvation, Satan himself, sincere repentance, sincerely seek your face, sinned and disobeyed your Word, spiritual warfare, spiritual wickedness in high places, strong faith in Christ, the church's adversary, the devil had ended all the temptation, the devil's strategy, the God who heals, the individual nature of spiritual warfare, the lion of the work week, the Lord's armour, the mass confusion in our world, the milk of the word, the power of his might, the power to solve our problems, the power to tame lions, the rulers of darkness, the throne of grace, the wiles of the devil, to alleviate our problems, to hear and answer our prayers, tools to fight, truth, turn from our evil ways, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, wisdom, wisdom for the ages, wise guidance
Ephesians 6:11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.
Welcome to Monday friends; the lion of the work week! But please remember that through Jesus Christ, we have the power to tame even the most ferocious lion, which means we can conquer Monday, without any trouble, if we put our minds to it. So, let’s do just that nuh; by getting out there and showing Monday that we have it all together, and there’s nothing it can throw at us that we cannot handle.
However, before we can flex our muscles on Monday, we need to fulfill one important, life-saving obligation; that’s putting on the Lord’s armour before we go out to battle with Monday, for if we don’t, he will certainly come out victorious, since it’s the Lord’s armour that keeps us protected and gives us the tools to fight. Consequently, it will do us a lot of good to have a brief refresher course on the armour of God. (smile) And we find that master fighter, Bruh Paul, talking about it in his letter to the church at Ephesus.
This is what He says to them: ‘Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world (age), against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you (take up) the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.’ (Eph. 6:10-13)
That my people is the general why of the situation. The fight is not against human flesh but against spiritual wickedness, especially those in high places, that are controlling our world. And the scholars give us some interesting and important explanations, like ‘Put on, denotes a sense of urgency, demanding immediate action.’ And we do need to get the ball rolling with no hesitation whatsoever.
Then, ‘to stand, means to resist the enemy and hold a critical position in the battle. While the wiles of the devil (the Devil’s strategy): means that Satan carefully devises schemes and tactics against believers. And as per ‘wrestle, used of hand-to-hand combat, emphasizes the personal and individual nature of spiritual warfare waged against each local church and Christian. Flesh and blood refers to humanity.
Such is not the church’s adversary. Instead, she opposes principalities (rulers), powers (authorities), rulers (world rulers), spiritual wickedness (wicked spiritual beings), that is fallen angels, demons, and Lucifer himself.’ So friends, you see the powerful consortium of evil and wickedness that we are up against.
That’s why Bruh Paul wrote ‘Wherefore, meaning because we face such a formidable foe, we must avail ourselves of God’s provision lest the enemy destroy our Christian witness and ministry. The evil day refers to the periodic demonic onslaughts and Satanic attacks. Having done all includes both dressing oneself in God ‘s armour and resisting Satan. Having done all these, be ready, for the Devil will attack again and again.’
Yes mih bredrin, that’s one thing about Satan and his evil cronies, they don’t ever give up, they keep coming back again and again. It’s like when the Devil tempted Jesus unsuccessfully, the Bible says: ‘And when the devil had ended all the temptation (testing), he departed from him for a season.’ (Luke 4:13) That means he did not go away forever, but just to recover himself and come up with some more evil schemes.
And that’s the way we Christians ought also to be, never give up, never say die, especially when we know that we already have the victory though Jesus Christ, but we do need to protect it. And please note that Bruh Paul keeps talking about putting on ‘the whole armour of God.’ Yes, that’s all of it, not bits and pieces, because it’s only with the complete armour that we can ever fight any battle victoriously.
Now that was the milk of the armour of God, (smile) understanding why it’s necessary to be protected, and from what. And I believe that we will leave the meat and potatoes of the situation for tomorrow, if God spares life, because we have enough heavy stuff to understand today, and the rest of it is also difficult to understand and will only make the Bit long and unwieldy. So, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid to help in these evil and ungodly times.
Altogether: ‘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. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but 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. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us 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!’
And as we can see from our prayer, there are things we first need to do before divine aid is forthcoming; like turn from our evil ways, pray, humble ourselves, and sincerely seek the Lord’s face. So why don’t we concentrate on doing those things eh my people, beginning right now, so that heaven will shower down blessings on us. It’s wisdom for the ages! Much LOVE!
…it’s simple logic and common sense…one cannot go into battle without proper protection and efficient weapons…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
13 Jan 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a critical position, a fight for life and death, a merciful forgiving and gracious God, a new work week, alleviate our problems, be strong in the Lord, Bible, caught napping, cessation of hostilities, Christian, Christian witness, christianity, crapaud smoke we pipe, demonic onslaughts, departed from him for a season, disobeyed your word, divine aid, eternal death, eternal life, eternal separation from God, eternity, evil weapons, faith, God's guidebook, grace, having done all, holy spirit, in the power of his might, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, LOVE, mass confusion, meditate on God's Word, mercy, mickey mouse affair, negative situations, no cease fire, no quarter given, pain, pay a horrendous price, powers, pray, principalities, put on the whole armour of God, put the word into practice, renewed confidence, resist the enemy, rest, salvation, Satanic assaults, sincerely seek your face, sinned, spiritual foes, spiritual wickedness, stand against the wiles of the devil, strengthened by the Lord, strong faith in Christ, temporary truce, the God who heals, the rulers of darkness, the spiritual battle, to stand, truth, turn from our evil ways, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, wisdom, wise guidance, withstand in the evil day
Ephesians 6:10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Here we go again with a new work week, hope we are all prepared for it, with sufficient rest and renewed confidence and faith over the weekend, for the enemy is raising the level of spiritual warfare that’s taking place, daily putting more evil weapons and people into the fray. And if we are not aware and alert, we will certainly be caught napping and made to pay a horrendous price.
That’s why it’s ever so important for believers to get down with the Word, be much more acquainted with it; read it, study it, meditate on it, and put it into practice in our lives. For that’s the only way we will ever defeat the enemy. Remember, the Bible is God’s Guidebook for our earthly lives, and if we don’t know what it says, or how to put it into action, then crapaud smoke we pipe!
Friends, the enemy is not joking, this is not a friendly war… No! It’s a fight for life and death! If we lose it, then we’ll be facing eternal death and separation from Almighty God, and if we win, we’ll be spending eternal life with Him. And that’s the most important aspect of this whole earthly life; where we spend eternity!
And at the start of this new year, we cannot go wrong by examining some of the weapons we have to fight this spiritual warfare. Some of which are outlined by Bruh Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians, where he talks about the whole armour of God which is necessary for us to have, if we intend to fight and win the spiritual battle. He begins with this exhortation: ‘Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.’ (Eph. 6:10)
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘Finally may be rendered “from now on” or “henceforth.” The spiritual battle Christians are engaged in exists “from now on until the Lord’s return: there is no quarter given, no cease-fire, no temporary truce, no cessation of hostilities, “From now on” till the end there is all-out war. The remainder of the verse may be paraphrased, “Let yourselves constantly be strengthened by the Lord, more precisely, by His mighty power.”
Oh friends, yuh see this is a most serious and deadly affair, not some li’l mickey mouse matter, where we playing childlike games. Bruh Paul then makes another most significant statement. ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.’ (Eph. 6:11)
Now the scholars tell us that the words used for ‘Put on in the Greek language, denotes a sense of urgency, demanding immediate attention,’ and that’s a very crucial fact right now as the battle lines are narrowly drawn. Meanwhile ‘To Stand has military overtones. This verb was used in classical Greek meaning to resist the enemy and hold a critical position in battle.’
That ought to bring home the seriousness of the situation to us. In other words, we cannot stand against the wiles or evil schemes of the enemy unless we’re dressed in the full armour of God. And believe me, Satan carefully crafts schemes and tactics against believers. So please don’t think that He’s just fooling around. He’s more serious about our destruction that ever.
Then Bruh Paul goes on to give us some idea of whom we’re fighting against. ‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world (age), against spiritual wickedness (spiritual hosts of wickedness) in high places.’ (Eph. 6:12) So we’re not fighting against flesh and blood, but against spiritual foes.
The scholars explain that ‘Wrestle, used of hand to hand combat emphasizes the personal and individual nature of spiritual warfare waged against each local church and Christian. Flesh and blood refer to humanity. Such is not the church’s adversary. Instead, she opposes principalities (rulers), powers (authorities), rulers (world rulers), spiritual wickedness (wicked spiritual beings), that is, fallen angels, demons, and Lucifer himself.’
Then Bruh Paul reemphasizes the importance of God’s armour in our fight. ‘Wherefore take unto you (take up) the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand.’ (Eph. 6:13) And the scholars explain that means ‘because we face such a formidable foe, we must avail ourselves of God’s provision lest the enemy destroy our Christian witness and ministry. The evil day refers to the periodic demonic onslaughts and Satanic assaults. Having done all includes both dressing oneself in God’s armour and resisting Satan. Having done all these, be ready, for the Devil will attack again and again.’
Now that’s something we have to be very cognizant of; the devil never stops for good. Every so often, he will take a break, especially if he is not getting anywhere with you, possibly to devise new strategy, but he will always come back while we’re alive, it’s his reason for living. We can clearly see that in the scriptures. After Satan unsuccessfully tempts Jesus, the Word says: ‘And when the devil had ended all the temptation (testing), he departed from him for a season (until an opportune time).’ (Luke4:13)
Yes my fellow saints, the devil doesn’t tempt us willy- nilly, but has very deep and deceptive strategies in place to encourage us to fall. However, we will not do that today, because we will go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid to help us overcome his evil schemes.
Altogether: ‘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. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but 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. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us 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!’
But let’s remember that before divine aid can be granted, we need to humble ourselves, pray and sincerely seek God’s face. In other words, turn from our evil ways! Much LOVE!
…to fight God’s fight successfully…one must have His protective armour…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
26 Aug 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: .praying always in the Spirit, a merciful forgiving and gracious God, a sense of urgency, against the wiles of the devil, an opportune time, answer our prayers, be strong in the Lord, Bible, christianity, defeat the enemy, demonic onslaughts, divine aid, dressed in spiritual armour, faith, fight to the death for Christ, for a season, God's provision, having done all to stand, holy character, holy spirit, humble ourselves, in the power of his might, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, LOVE, moral conduct, negative situations, powers, pray, principalities, put on the whole armour of God, quench the fiery darts, ready for the challenge, repentnace, resisting Satan, Satanic assaults, sincerely seek your face, sitting ducks, spiritual battle, spiritual wickedness in high places, supplication for the saints, the best defence is offence, the breastplate of righteousness, the enemy destroy our witness, the God who heals, the helmet of salvation, the individual nature of spiritual warfare, the preparation of the gospel of peace, the rulers of darkness, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit, the throne of grace, the truth of God's word, the whole armour of God, truth, waging spiritual war, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, wisdom, wise guidance, withstand in the evil day, ye may be able to stand, your feet shod, your loins girt about with truth
Ephesians 6:11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (carefully crafted schemes) of the devil.
Come on down Monday…the followers of Jesus are ready for your challenge! We’re dressed in our spiritual armour just rearing to get out on the battlefield and fight to the death for Christ! Ah friends, those are easy words to spout, but much harder to put into real, live action. And now is as good a time as any to review and remember what we mean by our spiritual armour.
Bruh Paul spells it out very nicely for us in his epistle to the Ephesians. He writes: ‘Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (carefully crafted schemes) of the devil.’ (Eph. 6:10-11)
Oh my fellow believers, as the scholars tell us, those words ‘Put on,’ denote a sense of urgency, demanding immediate action.’ We cannot wait to see what the enemy is up to we have to be ready asap. And any soldier going into battle must secure protective equipment before they hit the battlefield, otherwise they will be sitting ducks for the enemy. And although we’re not waging a physical but spiritual war, we still need protective armour to assist us in our fight.
Now what’s this spiritual war, you ask? Listen to Bruh Paul tell it: ‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.’ (Eph. 6:12)
And the scholars explain it thus: ‘Wrestle, used of hand-to-hand combat, emphasizes the personal and individual nature of spiritual warfare waged against each local church and Christian. Flesh and blood refers to humanity. Such is not the church’s adversary. Instead, she opposes principalities (rulers), powers (authorities), rulers (world rulers), spiritual wickedness (wicked spiritual beings), that is, fallen angels, demons, and Lucifer himself.’
Yes, the spiritual battle is not only against the church, but also against individuals, which means, each and every believer needs that spiritual protective armour. That’s why Bruh Paul writes: ‘Wherefore take unto you (take up) the whole armour of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand.’ (Eph. 6:13)
And per the scholars, that means ‘because we face such a formidable foe, we must avail ourselves of God’s provision lest the enemy destroy our witness and ministry. The evil day refers to the periodic demonic onslaughts and Satanic assaults. Having done all includes both dressing oneself in God’s armour and resisting Satan. Having done all these, be ready, for the Devil will attack again and again.’
Of that you can be very sure my brethren. The devil will never stop completely, as the Bible tells us re the temptations of Jesus. ‘And when the devil had ended all the temptation (testing), he departed from him for a season (until an opportune time).” (Luke 4:13) So when he stops tempting you, he’s not gone forever, but only until he sees another opportunity.
And we finally come to the big question, what is this armour of God that we’ve been talking about. Let’s listen to Bruh Paul again from his letter to the Ephesians. ‘Stand therefore, having your loins girt about (your waist girded) with truth (the knowledge of the truth of God’s word), and having on the breastplate of righteousness (a holy character and moral conduct): And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace (an eagerness or willingness to advance against the Devil, and take the fight to him).
Above all taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (one). That means ‘taking God at His word believing His promises. Such trust will protect one from doubts induced by Satan.’ And take the helmet of salvation (the hope or assurance of salvation), and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (selected verses of Scripture):
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for the saints.’ Meaning that ‘prayer is indispensable; without prayer God’s armour is inadequate to achieve victory. And we must be vigilant in the matter of prayer, praying always when Satan attacks, not only for ourselves, but for all saints, with the help of the Holy Spirit.’ (Eph. 6:14-18)
Now that’s how we’ll be able to handle Monday and whatever the devil decides to throw at us. But we have to be proactive, not wait for the devil to come, but take up the Lord’s armour and go after him. As they say, the best defence is offence! Oh friends, I do hope this brief review on God’s protective spiritual armour reawakens our spirits and our desire to fight for Christ. And if we’ve gotten off-course, sets us back on course, keeps us on the straight and narrow road that leads to heaven and Christ.
And having said all that, let’s go the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid. Altogether: ‘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. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but 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. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us 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!’
And a word to the wise; the only way we’ll ever see divine aid is if we humble ourselves, pray, sincerely seek God’s face, and turn from our evil ways. Much LOVE!
…without God’s protective spiritual armour…the believer cannot defeat the enemy in spiritual battle…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
03 Mar 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a crown of life shall be, a crown of righteousness, a good soldier of Christ, anti-slavery stance, Bible, christianity, Dudley Atkins Tyng, endure hardness, evangelical revival, faith, fellowship, fight mano a mano, finished my race, from victory unto victory, George Duffield Jr, god, having done all to stand, holy spirit, I have fought a good fight, I was glad when they said unto me, Jesus, Jesus Christ, joy in the house of the Lord, kept the faith, let us go into the house of the Lord, LOVE, mercy, no man entangleth himself with the affairs of this world, praying always with all prayer, put on the whole armour of God, rocking reggae riddim, spiritual wickedness in high places, stand against the wiles of the devil, stand in his strength alone, Stand up Stand up for Jesus, standing on Christ my Saviour, Standing on the promises of God, that love his appearing, the arm of flesh will fail you, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the helmet of salvation, the righteous judge, the shield of faith, the strife will not be long, the sword of he Spirit, the victor's crown, this day the noise of battle, warlike imagery, we wrestle not against flesh and blood
2 Timothy 2:3. Thou therefore endure hardness (hardship), as a good soldier of Christ.
Awright friends, it’s another Sunday in the life, the first one in this new month of March, which also makes it the third Sunday in Lent of this early Easter Season. Therefore, all roads lead to the Lord’s Sanctuary for prayer, praise, worship and thanksgiving! In Psalm 122 – titled ‘Joy in the House of the Lord,’ Bruh David got it oh so right when he said: ‘I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.’ (Ps. 122:1) Of course, for where can more and better joy be found than in the Lord’s house eh? Technically speaking, NOWHERE! For where the Lord inhabits, that’s where His joy is to be found.
And some of us might be wondering why Bruh David made that statement. Well this commentary sheds some light on it. ‘I was glad when they said to me: David had in mind both the community (when they said) and the individual (I was glad). He pictured the individual coming together with the group to go into the house of the LORD. That invitation and the acceptance of it made him glad.’ And I do hope that our invitation to go into God’s house will bring acceptance, which will certainly make us glad! (smile)
Now, today’s song of worship is none other than the great favourite, the Christian military song ‘Stand Up Stand up for Jesus,’ written by American preacher George Duffield Jr. (1818-1888) in Philadelphia in 1858, apparently inspired by the dying words of a Presbyterian colleague, Dudley A. Tyng. Ousted from his own congregation for his strong anti-slavery stance, Tyng preached to large crowds in weekday meetings sponsored by the YMCA. His work spearheaded an evangelical revival in Philadelphia early in 1858.
At Tyng’s deathbed, caused by a farm accident in which he lost an arm, Duffield and others asked if he had any final message. Tyng replied, ‘Tell them to stand up for Jesus!” At Tyng’s memorial service on April 25, 1858, Duffield preached on Ephesians 6:14 and concluded his sermon by reading his new hymn text, “Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus.” We all know and LOVE it, so let’s belt it out with sincere fervour, allowing our sacrifices of praise to rise to high heaven in a scintillating, up-tempo rocking reggae riddim, a la Jamaican gospel singer, Miss Carlene Davis.
Singing: ‘Stand up, stand up for Jesus ye soldiers of the cross; lift high his royal banner, it must not suffer loss: from vict’ry unto vict’ry his army he shall lead, ’til ev’ry foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed. Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the trumpet call obey; forth to the mighty conflict in this his glorious day: ye that are men now serve him against unnumbered foes; let courage rise with danger, and strength to strength oppose. (Chorus: Stand up, stand up, Stand up for Jesus, children stand up. Stand up, stand up, Stand up for Jesus children stand up. Yes we are standing on Christ my Saviour, standing on the promises of God. Standing on the promises of Christ my Saviour, standing on the promises of God. Stand up, stand up, Stand up for Jesus, children stand up. Stand up, stand up, Stand up for Jesus children stand up.)
Stand up, stand up for Jesus, stand in his strength alone; the arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own: put on the gospel armor, each piece put on with pray’r; where duty calls, or danger, be never wanting there. Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the strife will not be long; this day the noise of battle, the next the victor’s song: to him that overcometh a crown of life shall be; he with the King of glory shall reign eternally. (Chorus: Stand up, stand up, Stand up for Jesus, children stand up. Stand up, stand up, Stand up for Jesus children stand up. Yes we are standing on the promises of Christ my Saviour, standing on the promises of God. Standing on the promises of Christ my saviour, standing on the promises of God. Stand up, stand up, Stand up for Jesus, children stand up. Stand up, stand up, Stand up for Jesus children stand up.)’
Wow! What an inspiring song in these dark and dangerous times! And believe me, if we are true and sincere Christians, we don’t need anyone or anything to tell us that we need to stand up strong for Christ, and fight a good fight the way world is moving towards the enemy’s camp. But nonetheless, there are several scriptures that encourage us to stand up as soldiers on Christ’s behalf. So let’s look at a few of them nuh. And first off the block is this one from Bruh Paul to Timothy. ‘Thou therefore endure hardness (hardship), as a good soldier of Christ. No man entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.’ (2 Tim. 2:3-4)
And Jesus has surely chosen us to be soldiers in His cause, which means we cannot be entangled in the affairs of this world, but need to concentrate on fighting the battle we signed up for. And as was said above, the military basis of the song comes from Bruh Paul’s fighting words to the Ephesians. ‘Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (schemes) of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood (humanity) but against principalities (rulers), against powers (authorities), the rulers of the darkness of this world (age), against spiritual wickedness (wicked spiritual beings) in high places.
Wherefore take unto you (take up) the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth (girded your waist with truth or knowledge of the Lord’s Word), and having on the breastplate of righteousness (holy character and moral conduct); And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace (an eagerness that comes from the gospel of peace to advance against the devil and take the fight to him);
Above all, taking the shield of faith, (taking God at His Word, trusting Him, believing in His promises), wherewith ye shall be able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked one.
And take the helmet (hope) of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (that dangerous two-edged sword). Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.’ (Eph. 6:10-17)
There you have it friends, the necessity for Christians to take up their spiritual armour and join the spiritual fray against Beelzebub. If we don’t, things will just get from bad to worse. And as one commentary states: ‘The challenge of “Stand Up for Jesus” is proclaimed through the military metaphors Paul uses in Ephesians 6:10-18. Although some decry the warlike imagery, the spiritual battle that Christians must fight is very real. Christ’s victory is assured even if we do not always move “from victory unto victory” in our earthly lives.’
Now that’s certainly true, but still on our way out, we need to be able to say like Bruh Paul did to Timothy: ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race), I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that LOVE his appearing.’ (2 Tim. 4:7-8) Oh my fellow saints, that’s what’s in store for us if we stand strong and steadfast for Christ and fight the enemy mano a mano! Let’s hope we’ll all be there receiving our crowns of righteousness on that final day! Much LOVE!
…all Christians…are soldiers in Christ’s army…and must behave accordingly…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
24 Jun 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a battle to the death, a means of restoring faith in you, a reputation for being hypocrites, a universal mantra, against spiritual wickedness in high places, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, as a roaring lion, bring backsliders back to your fold, bringing into captivity every thought, but against principalities, but of power love and a sound mind, Casting down imaginations, evangelize the world, For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, Friday chant, hand to hand combat, introduce a new flock, LOVE, many are tainted by the deeds of the few, only Jesus is perfect, resist steadfast in the faith, resist the devil and he will flee from you, spiritual armour, submit yourselves to God, talk a good talk, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the awesome power of the Holy Spirit, the Battlefield of the mind, the throne of grace, though we walf after the flesh, to the obedience of Christ, trusting faith, unchristian in our walk, walketh about seeking whom he may devour, we do not war after the flesh, we don't practice what we preach, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, wise guidance, your adversary the devil
Ephesians 6:12. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world (age), against spiritual (hosts of) wickedness in high places.
So friends, we’ve come to the end of another work week, another Friday, with a host of people, good, bad and indifferent joyfully shouting: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday!’ Yes, even the ones who don’t believe in God, or don’t even know Him, shout it. It’s like a universal mantra, where a great load is unburdened and the supposed weary slaves, many of whom are thoroughly lazy and do as little work as possible, (smile) are set free for a couple of days. And believe me, that also applies to Christians, for we do talk a good talk, but can be rather unchristian in our walk. And that’s why so many unbelievers refuse to listen to us, we don’t practice what we preach, as much as we ought to.
All over the globe, Christians have a reputation for being hypocrites, and in a lot of cases the name is well-deserved. So, unfortunately, the many are tainted by the deeds of the few, and that is definitely not the character trait Christ wants the world to have of His church, of those who profess faith in His name and all that He’s done for mankind. And we all know how difficult it is to correct a bad reputation, even one that is untrue. Therefore, those of us who try to do the right thing are often faced with an uphill battle, not of our making.
But let’s remember that our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ is omnipotent, and gives us the tools to do whatever He desires of us. So, if He desires us to evangelize the world, then there’s nothing the world can do to stop us. We just have to faithfully believe and get up the gumption to do Christ’s work, because we have all the necessary tools to otherwise do it, backed up all the way by the awesome power of the Holy Spirit! That means fear of failure should be a no-brainer. Remember what Bruh Paul told Timothy about fear? ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7)
Consequently, Christ’s followers ought to be positive, optimistic, powerful and fearless. Yes, it’s a lot to ask in this scary, turbulent and deceitful world. And though none of us will ever be perfect, because it’s not in our DNA, for only Jesus is perfect, I know that we can all come up higher than the level we are currently at. It all depends on our state of mind, our state of maturity, and if we truly want to be good soldiers for Christ. The battle is not easy, and is not one we can see, for it’s being fought in the spiritual realm, but believe me, it is still as real as if we could see it.
Bruh Paul explained it thus to the Ephesians. ‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world (age), against spiritual (hosts of) wickedness in high places.’ (Eph. 6:12) So we really are in a battle, and one to the death, for the forces of evil will not give up, and neither should we.
Meanwhile, here’s how the scholars explain that verse. ‘6:12. Wrestle, used of hand to hand combat, emphasizes the personal and individual nature of spiritual warfare waged against each local church and Christian. Flesh and blood refers to humanity. Such is not the church’s adversary. Instead, she opposes principalities (rulers), powers (authorities), rulers (world-rulers), spiritual wickedness (wicked spiritual beings), that is, fallen angels, demons, and Lucifer (Satan) himself.’
It is therefore an all-encompassing war that will not end until Jesus comes back and sets up his kingdom. These words of Bruh Paul to the church at Corinth also highlight the kind of warfare in which we are continually engaged. ‘For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after (according to) the flesh. (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (of the flesh), but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations (arguments), and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.’ (2 Cor. 10:3-5)
Yes my brethren, the scholars tell us that ‘Though we walk (live) in the flesh (in a body), we do not war (fight) after (according to) the flesh (human standards): The first phrase of verse 5 looks back to verse 3 and expresses the manner in which believers conduct spiritual warfare. It is by casting down (destroying) imaginations (false arguments) such as Paul’s opponents have raised.’
Oh my people, please remember that it’s in our minds that spiritual warfare is being fought; the devil tries to invade our minds with evil, ungodly thoughts, but we need to fight him mano-a-mano, taking every thought into captivity, that’s checking it out, using the Holy Spirit to make sure that it lines up with the word and desires of Christ. And if it doesn’t, then kicking it out!
That’s why James warns us to ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded….Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:7-8, 10).
And Peter strongly advises, ‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in (experienced by) your brethren that are in the world.’ (1 Pet. 5:8-9)
Oh my fellow saints, it’s time for us to truly get serious about the battle in which we are engaged. Once you call yourself a believer in Christ Jesus, there’s no getting away from it. So please, let’s raise our level of passion, of faith and sincerity and thus put up a better fight in Jesus’ name nuh. He’s depending on us. There’s no one else to fight for Him and His church and kingdom but us. Now let’s take the first step in that direction, prayer, and through our Friday Chant, approach the throne of grace with confident humility.
As one voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets.
So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways.
And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And, as always, after prayer, you keep whatever promises you’ve made, then wait patiently, with expectant faith for God to answer…in His own time. (smile) Much LOVE!
…the battlefield of the spiritual world is our mind…so please ensure we have on our spiritual armour…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
21 Mar 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and having done all to stand, be able to stand in the evil day, be strong in the Lord, cast off the works of darkness, Christ's reign of righteousness, demonic onslaughts, divine help, don't take anything for granted, have no fellowship, herd immunity, humble ourselves and pray, insensitivity to Christ's demands, irresponsible behaviour, it is a shame, it is high time to awake out of sleep, Jehovah Rapha, learned that invaluable lesson, LOVE, mandataory masking plans suspended, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, now is our salvation nearer, prevention is better than cure, put on the armour of light, put on the whole armour of God, Satanic assaults, sincerely seek your face, take our responsibilities seriously, take unto you the whole armour of God, than when we believed, the day is at hand, the God who heals, the night is far spent, the prince of the power of the air, to speak of those things done in secret, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, wise guidance, with the unfruitful works of darkness
Romans 13:12. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Now that’s how a Monday morning ought to open, bright and sunshiny, especially a Monday morning as important as this one in the Province of Ontario, when the mandatory masking plans for most places will be suspended. Well, except for places like Public transit; Health care settings; Retirement homes; Long-term care homes; and Congregate care and living settings. The latter includes homes for the developmentally disabled, shelters and jails. However, on April 27 of this year, even those mask mandates are scheduled to be lifted.
And that’s a kicker if there ever was one! Two years of mandatory mask wearing will hopefully end in another month! Glory be! But, please remember that doesn’t mean Covid will just disappear. I believe it will be with us for some time until we develop the much-needed herd immunity. However, until that stage is reached, and no one knows when that will be, we still need to be careful in all our doings. As they say, prevention is better than cure. And a whole lot of us learned that invaluable lesson over the last couple of years, unfortunately losing friends and family because of irresponsible behaviour.
So please let it be a reminder that we can’t take anything for granted with all the negative stuff floating around, because Covid numbers are still high for both the vaccinated and unvaccinated, and many people are still in hospitals and on ventilators. Consequently, we can only hope and pray that the situation doesn’t deteriorate, now that many of us will stop wearing masks. That means, as believers, we have to keep on being very diligent and responsible in our earthly walk.
And I believe these words of Bruh Paul to the Roman church are quite appropriate for these current times. ‘And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.’ (Rom. 13:11-12) Yes my fellow believers, it’s time for us to wake up, to get really serious about our duties and responsibilities as followers of Jesus Christ in this dark and evil world!
And the scholars offer these explanations re those two verses. ‘13:11-12. Sleep means insensitivity to the demands of Christ on the Christian’s life. Now is our salvation nearer: The coming of Christ to deliver us from this sinful world grows nearer every day. The night is the time while Christ is out of the world, and the world has been delivered into the control of the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2- which basically reminds us that before we received Christ, we walked in that darkness). The day is a reference to the time when Christ will return and establish His reign of righteousness.’
And since the world only gets darker and more evil every day, we have our job cut out for us my people. We need to increase our efforts to be lights in this dark world. Like Bruh Paul said to the Ephesians: ‘And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove (expose) them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved (exposed) are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.’ (Eph. 5:11-13)
Oh friends, it’s obvious that we should not indulge in the sins of the unbeliever, but more importantly expose them, ‘bring them to the light and show them for what they really are, so that the unbeliever may see their hideous nature and their terrible consequences.’ For it’s shameful even to discuss that sinful behaviour in decent company. Thus, the necessity to bring them to light, expose them through Christ’s gospel, ‘for whatever sin is made manifest, is exposed, becomes light.’ But to do that successfully, we also need to put on the ‘armour of light’ because we are involved in a serious spiritual battle that cannot be fought without God’s protective armour.
And Bruh Paul offers a serious warning on the subject. ‘Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (schemes) of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood (humanity), but against principalities (rulers), against powers (authorities), against the rulers of the darkness of this world (world-rulers), against spiritual wickedness in high places (wicked spiritual beings). Wherefore take unto you (take up, put on) the whole armour of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.’ (Eph. 6:10 -13)
Now that’s oh so true! As the scholars explain: ‘Because we face such a formidable foe, we must avail ourselves of God’s provision lest the enemy destroy our Christian witness and ministry, during the ‘evil day,’ that’s the demonic onslaughts and Satanic assaults that periodically come against us.’ Only God’s armour will help us to resist Satan, and once we put it on, we need to keep it on, since Satan will keep attacking us every so often.
Now let’s remind ourselves of God’s armour, so we can get it all. They are, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the sandals of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, all encompassed in the mighty act of prayer. (Eph. 6:14-19) And talking of prayer, since we’re clothed in God’s armour, let’s go to God right now through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to complete the process.
As one voice: ‘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, since we have invoked the name of Jesus Christ, it means we have to be on His right side, if we want the Lord to answer our prayer. And we all know what that entails. (smile) Much LOVE!
…Christians are soldiers in Christ’s army…and no wise soldier goes into battle without protective armour…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
18 Feb 2022
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, against spiritual wickedness in high places, be of good cheer, be responsible and stay safe, bring backsliders back to your fold, but against principalities, but of power love and a sound mind, Christian soldiers, fight the good fight for Christ, Friday chant, God has not given us the spirit of fear, having your loins girt about with truth, i have overcome the world, in the world ye shall have tribulation, introduce a new flock, let not your heart be troubled, LOVE, my peace I give unto you, negligible fear, neither let it be afraid, no weapon formed against you shall prosper, not as the world giveth, nothing can separate us from the Love of God, omnipotent help, Peace i leave with you, praying always with all prayer, put on the whole armour of God, stand against the wiles of the devil, strong faith, supplication in the spirit, that ye may be able to stand, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the preparation of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit, wake up and smell the coffee, walk and not be weary, walk and not faint, we are more than conquerors, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, white aa snow, your feet shod
Ephesians 6:11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.
Oh my people, it’s as white as snow out there and the brilliant sunshine is just blinding as it reflects off the white surface! (smile) And it’s white as snow because it is snow! Chuh! Last night the rain and freezing rain changed to snow and a few inches of the beautiful stuff was deposited in our area. And you can imagine the problems it created with this morning’s drive to work. Hopefully, we all took care and there were not many accidents, especially with the undercoating of ice that was on the roads before the snow came.
And we are certainly blessed to have Jesus in our corner to help with all the stuff we experience in this evil world. His promises of negligible fear and strong faith are ever assuring and confidence building. Listen to these two magnificent promises nuh. ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled; neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27)
Yes friends, the kind of peace Jesus imbues in His followers is a special kind that overcomes fear and the concerns of this world. And He goes even further to reassure us with these marvellous words. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)
Now that’s how powerful and reassuring is our Lord Jesus! Through His death and resurrection, He’s overcome the evil and darkness of this world, so there is no need for us to fear anything or anyone that comes against us. In fact, it’s been promised that ‘No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of (from) me, saith the Lord.’ (Is. 54:17)
And let’s not forget that ‘in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us…and that nothing can separate us from the LOVE of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom. 8:37, 39) However friends, it’s essential that we remember all of God’s promises concerning our peace and safety and take them to heart, because it’s only through holding His word securely that we can successfully fight the battles that we will all encounter in this earthly life.
And in these perilous times, which certainly seem to be the last ones, it’s ever so important to keep our trust and faith strong and not the let the evil and deceitful enemy beat us down through fear and misfortune. Remember that Christ has promised to hold our hands as we go through whatever comes against us. And though He doesn’t make the problems go away, be assured that He walks beside us through them all and brings us out stronger on the other side.
So, we need to have that trust to walk and not be weary, to walk and not faint. And that’s not always easy to do when the evil wiles of Satan come against us, but as Bruh Paul reminds Timothy. ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7) That means we all have what it takes to overcome the enemy, but we need to bring the tools, the weapons He’s given us to the fight. In other words, it’s necessary to ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.’ (Eph, 6:11)
And you ask, what’s this armour Paul’s talking about? Well it’s not physical but spiritual armour. ‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world (age), against spiritual wickedness in high places.’ (Eph. 6:12) So it’s spiritual, not physical battle we’re waging, which means we need spiritual armour if we are to be successful in that fight.
And Bruh Paul describes that spiritual armour thus: ‘Having your loins girt about with truth,’ (that’s girded your waist with the truth found in God’s word), and having on the breastplate of righteousness. And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts (arrows) of the wicked (one). And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.’ (Eph. 6:14-18)
So just like a soldier in physical battle puts on armour to protect himself, likewise we believers doing spiritual battle need to have protection as listed above, and then to cover it all with sincere prayer and supplication for all our fellow soldiers in Christ, because prayer is still the number one weapon in our armoury. And since that’s so, let’s offer up prayer right now nuh, through our Friday Chant, taking our problems to Almighty God for His divine assistance.
Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible.
And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set.
Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now let’s go and sincerely action those promises we’ve just made so that the Lord can positively answer our prayer. Much LOVE!
…it’s time for all Christian soldiers…to put on their spiritual armour…to stand up strong…and fight the good fight for Christ…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
16 Dec 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a defeated foe, a prayer for guidance, admonitions, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, always abounding in the work of the Lord, and having done all, another day in the life, be strong in the Lord, be ye kind to one another, be ye renewed, be ye steadfast unmovable, by the skin of your teeth, eyes fixed straight ahead, fall into the miry pit, forgiving one another, God for Christ's sake hath for given you, halfway home, hands fixed securely on the plough, in His eternal kingdom, in the spirit of your mind, keep on fighting, not looking back at the past, outside of God's will, physidal strife, put on the new man, put on the whole armour of God, reign with Jesus, running the race set before us, Scrip-Bit family, spiritual warfare, spiritual wickedness, take the pressure off, tenderhearted, thank God, the breath of life, to a glorious future with Jesus, To God be the glory, to stand, unique fingerprints and DNA, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, Wednesday Wail, wisdom and discernment, with God's guidance, your labour is not in vain
Ephesians 4:23. And be ye renewed in the spirit of your mind.
Welcome, welcome mih Scrip-Bit family to another day in the life! It’s brand new and not like any that’s ever gone before or will ever come again! Oh, it might seem like the same old, same old type of day, but it’s not, for everyday has its own purpose and distinctive marking, just like we all have different and unique fingerprints and DNA. That means we have to figure out, with God’s guidance of course, what He has on the agenda for each and every day and do our best, put our best foot forward to accomplish it, so we can bring the requisite glory to His name and kingdom.
So it’s always best to begin the day on our knees, for those who can get down there (smile) with a prayer for guidance and strength, wisdom and discernment, to do His holy will. Otherwise, it’s so easy to get caught up and totally lost in the numerous events and circumstances that our busy and hectic world constantly provides, and keeps declaring that they are too important to simply let them pass by.
But the truth is that many of them need to be allowed to go on their merry way rejoicing, for they are basically evil, or lies, deceits and deceptions of the evil one, sent, and set there so deliciously, like the harlot’s call, to titillate and inveigle us to do stuff that’s outside of God’s will. That’s why we have so many admonitions in the Good Book as to how to conduct our day. And today we’re just going to remind ourselves of some of them, so we can take the pressure off, and just rest in the peace of God.
So here’s this first passage, one from Bruh Paul to the church at Ephesus. ‘And be ye renewed in the spirit of your mind. And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: neither give place (an opportunity) to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph. 4:23-32)
Whew! Oh mih people, yuh see how much wrong stuff we could get into in one day, and if we try to go it on our own every day, we certainly going into fall into the miry pit and give the devil so many opportunities to lead us astray. That’s why it is so necessary to invoke God’s protection and guidance, every day, and to pray without ceasing, and to always give thanks. And I know some of us are going to question the practicality of those words, but they are very practical if you make them habits.
All through the day, ask the Lord to help you in doing your tasks, then thank Him for helping you do them. When you make a mistake, ask for forgiveness, then give thanks for it. And when you get away from an accident by the skin of your teeth, give much thanks! (smile) I can definitely tell you about that one, because it’s happened to me several times over the last few years. And if you’re always on the road, the reality of that is very great. Yes friends, there is a way to pray without ceasing and giving thanks continuously. We just have to keep God uppermost in our minds throughout the day.
Another thing too, is this encouraging passage also from Bruh Paul to the Ephesians. ‘Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world (age), against spiritual (hosts of) wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you (take up and put on) the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.’ (Eph. 6:10-13)
Yes mih bredrin, physical strife is not our greatest enemy, but the spiritual warfare that’s thrown at us by the hosts of spiritual wickedness in high places in this evil world. And we can only combat it when we’re girded about with the armour of God; His truth, his breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, His mighty word, and the ever-needed prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Bubba!
It’s a mighty battle in which we’re engaged my fellow believers, one we’re not to take lightly, because it’s a very serious affair, and the devil is fighting tooth and nail for hegemony over our souls, and we can only withstand him when we are surrounded on all sides by our God and His protective equipment. Now here’s some good news on that battle front. ‘But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (1 Cor. 15:57)
Yes friends, Christ has already given us the eventual victory through His conquering of hell, death and the grave, but meanwhile the battle still rages on, for the evil one still believes he can win, and he’s not a defeated foe, shades of our good ole boy Donald down in the good ole U.S. of A. (smile) ‘Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain (futile) in the Lord.’ (1 Cor. 15:58)
What more can I say eh friends? We just need to keep on fighting, keeping on running the race set before us with mucho stamina and courage! And to help us do just that, let’s declare (steups!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our enviable position in Christ Jesus.
Altogether 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!’
And will that ever be a most glorious day when we reign with Jesus in His eternal kingdom! Much LOVE!
…to God be the glory…through Christ Jesus…
17 Sep 2020
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a strong will, Christ's sacrificial death, compassionate heart, convinced of victory, Cousin Sol. the Preacher, curse, demoniacal pressure, doing God's work, Ecclesiastes, faithful obedience to His holy will, fear and doubt, fear God, great family, having your loins girt about with truth, he that believes, he that believeth, his commandments are not grievous, holy character, inherent human nature, keep his commandments, let him deny himself, let us hear, lift our spirits, live life to the full, mano a mano, moral conduct, negative word, power to fight the enemy, prayer, prayer is indispensable, put on the whole armour of God, reverence our Creator, saints in Christ, searched after truth pleasure and wisdom, self-discipline, soldiers of the Lord, spiritual armour, stand against the wiles of the devil, stand up for Jesus, take up his cross and follow me, Thanks be to God, that Jesus is the Son of God, the breastplate of righteousness, the conclusion of the whole matter, the good news, the helmet of salvation, the hump of Wednesday, the knowledge of God's Word, the most powerful tool, the shield of faith, the sting of death is sin, the sword of the Spirit, the Word of god, this is the love of God, this is the whole duty of man, through our Lord Jesus christ, Thursday's Blessings, to the best of our ability, two edged sword, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, weighed down in sin and bondage, whatever is born of God overcometh the world, who gives us the victory, who is he that overcometh the world, withstand the fiery darts of the enemy, your labour is not in vain
1 John 5:5. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Well it’s Thursday! We’ve gotten over the hump of Wednesday and every eye is now focused on Friday; that magical day that just seems to lift our spirits with the thought of the no work weekend just around the corner. So what are our plans for today eh friends? I hope they are to live life to the full, while doing the work God has set out for each of us, to the best of our ability.
For as Cousin Sol, writing as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes so truthfully proclaimed, having searched after truth, pleasure, wisdom and whatever else the world had to offer, as only he had the means and time to pursue: ‘Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.’ (Eccl.12:13)
Yes my fellow saints in Christ, that is all we’ve been called to do down here on this earth; sincerely reverence our wonderful Creator, and do whatever He has asked us to do, in other words, faithful obedience to His holy will. Now is that so difficult to do? Yes, at times, with the state of our world, it is very difficult to accomplish, as the enemy exerts all his pressure on us to follow his will instead. And with our inherent human nature of fear and doubt that evil, demoniacal pressure makes it even harder.
But the good news my brethren is that once we’re walking faithfully with Jesus, we do have the means, the wherewithal to avoid, to throw off the enemy’s evil attempts to keep us weighed down in sin and bondage. Christ, by His most sacrificial death on the cross has set us free! But as Christ so plainly said: ‘If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.’ (Matt. 16:24) Yes friends, we have to take up our own cross, die to self, and follow Him, if we want to be truly free of the enemy and his lying, deceitful ways.
We have to fully embrace Christ and all that He stands for if we want to successfully fight the enemy. And we not talking here about physical war, but a spiritual one, because that’s where the enemy focusses most of his attacks; in our spirits, our souls, our minds, where his manipulative powers can do the most damage. But as we’ve been saying, with Christ in us, and we in Him, we can do anything, because He’s given us the power, the awesome power to fight the enemy mano-a-mano, without fear, and convinced of victory!
Yes my people, John boldly proclaims it: ‘For this is theLOVEof God; that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (burdensome). For whatever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith.Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?’(1 John 5:3-5) Mama Yo! What powerful words of assurance and victory my bredrin! Hundreds of years later, after encountering Jesus in person, John agrees with Cousin Sol that keeping the Lord’s commandments are imperative to our well-being.
And Bruh Paul adds his own commentary on the subject in his first letter to the church at Corinth. ‘The sting of death is sin: and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain (futile) in the Lord.’ (1 Cor. 15:56-58) Ah mih people, victory and rewards are assured, but we still need to fight some battles, especially spiritual ones, and can do so very successfully with all the tools that’s been granted to us by the Lord.
So let’s take a quick look, really a remembrance (smile) of those spiritual tools in our arsenal nuh. Bruh Paul refers to them as spiritual armour in his missive to the Ephesians. ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world (age), against spiritual (hosts of) wickedness in high places.’ (Eph. 6:11-12) So that means we fighting in the spiritual realm, against demons, world rulers and other forces of darkness and evil, including the prince of darkness, Lucifer himself.
And since no true soldier goes into battle without protective gear, this is the armour we, the soldiers of Christ, need to successfully stand up to the enemy. Our loins must be girded with truth; the truth, the knowledge of God’s Word. That would be the belt holding the rest of our armour in place. Then there’s the breastplate of righteousness. We talking here about Holy character and moral conduct; obedience to the truth which produces a godly or righteous life.
And we can’t go into battle without proper footwear, and in our case our feet must be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. That means a sense of eagerness or willingness to fight, to advance against the enemy, to take the fight to him. For remember the best method of defence is attack! And then mih bredrin, we need the shield of faith, so that we can stop the fiery darts of the evil one and his evil cohorts. That means taking God at His word, using the faith based promises to strengthen us in times of doubt.
And we can’t forget the head gear, protection for our heads is invaluable. There we need the helmet of salvation; that’s the hope, the certainty, assurance of salvation; knowing that we’re saved and can’t lose it. Now we can’t go into battle without some sort of weapon to fight with. And ours is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God!
Brother! I won’t want to bounce up that sword in battle nuh. For remember what they say about it? ‘For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of (able to judge) the thoughts and intents (intentions) of the heart.’ (Heb. 4:12) Now that’s the kind of sword you want to go into battle with!
But yuh know what friends, with all that armour, you still can’t win the battle unless you have the most important and powerful tool in the universe; prayer. As Bruh Paul says: ‘Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.’ (Eph. 6:18) Yeh friends, prayer is indispensable; without it we can never achieve victory!
So having reviewed, rather lengthily, I must say (smile) our earthly job and spiritual protection, let’s go home now declaring (yeahhh!) our Thursday Blessings, wonderful accoutrements that have been endowed on us to help us do God’s work, for He never asks us to do anything without giving us the grace, the power, the anointing to do it.
All together in strong, sure and sincere voice: ‘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 the usual corollary is now invoked: let’s go out and share those blessings just as generously as they’ve been shared with us!Much LOVE!
…stand up, stand up for Jesus…you soldiers of the Lord…
P.S. Yeh, it sorta long, but that’s how and where I was led, and I think it’s good. (smile) Hope you do too. Much LOVE!
20 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a blessed joy, a corn cob, able to stand, anger, be able to withstand, Christians, cock-a-doodle-do, communicating with God, demons, denonic onslaughts, fallen angels, fear, formidable foe, furrowed brows, give a stranger one of your smiles, God's armour, hand to hand combat, hatred, hear yourself think, humanity, in high places, Jesus Christ, keep away from me, Love of Jesus, Lucifer, ministry, negativity, our Lord and Saviour, powers, principalities, put on the whole armour of God, Satanic assaults, share His love, sipping a ting, spiritual warfare, spiritual wickedness, stand, stressful day, strife, sunshine, the beloved of God, the evil day, the good news of Jesus, the only sunshine he sees all day, the rulers of darkness, the wiles of the devil, the work of the enemy, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, upper echelons of power, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, wicked spiritual beings, witness
Ephesians 6:11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.
Aye mih people, what a blessed joy it is to be able to sit down on my porch at minutes to four in the morning, without much clothes on, munching a corn on the cob and sipping a ting!
Hn! And I see the furrowed brows on some of you, wondering, ‘what’s a ting, how can you sip a ting? Well friends, a ting is just the name of a carbonated, grapefruit based drink from T&T.
Oh, I know some of you have the joy of doing that sort of thing all year round, but we in the north country don’t, so when we do have the opportunity, to us it’s a big deal. And the morning was nice and quiet and cool; just right for silently communicating with God and nature.
That, to me, is the best time of the day; when most of the world is sleeping, and you can even hear yourself think. We’re talking about those quiet moments before the macho cock stridently crows ‘cock-a doodle-do, cock-a-doodle-do,’ and awakens the universe to another loud and stressful day.
And believe you me, the days are getting louder and more stressful, as the strife and hatred and anger proliferate around our world. But here’s a li’l something from my ‘P.S. I LOVE YOU Poster that will help us defeat some of the negativity on our planet.
It says: ‘Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day.’ And surprisingly, my faithful brethren, there is a whole lot more truth in that statement than some of us are willing to believe.
That’s because we’ve become such sour and negative people, and refuse to share even a simple pleasantry with another human being, and not only because of their race, creed, colour or class, but simply because of the stern, serious, keep away from me look that so many of us present to the world today, a lot of it simply rooted in fear.
And all of that is simply the work of the enemy. That’s why, today, I believe it’s ever so necessary for us to consider the words of our Bit. ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.’
Yeh mih people, as we read yesterday, without God’s strength and His protective armour, we are unable to resist the enemy’s negative fear-mongering schemes. Now it’s time we have a refresher course in what God’s armour consists of, and how to use it successfully.
Firstly, let’s remember that as Christians, we are engaged in serious warfare, warfare of the spiritual kind. As Bruh Paul informed the Ephesians. ‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world (age), against spiritual wickedness (spiritual hosts of wickedness) in high places.’ (Eph.6:12)
Yes friends, you’d be amazed to know the amount of spiritual wickedness that resides in the upper echelons of power in this world. And the scholars offer this explanation on that verse.
‘6:12. Wrestle, used of hand-to-hand combat, emphasizes the personal and individual nature of spiritual warfare waged against each local church and Christian. Flesh and blood refers to humanity. Such is not the church’s adversary.
Instead she opposes principalities (rulers), powers (authorities), rulers (world rulers), spiritual wickedness (wicked spiritual beings), that is, fallen angels, demons, and Lucifer himself.’
So you see, precious people of God, it’s a mighty force of evil that is lined up against us, and it will take an even mightier force to defeat them. And that mightier force is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Glory to God!
But friends, just like it would be foolish to go into flesh and blood warfare without some protective clothing or amour, likewise, we need protection in this spiritual war in which we’re currently engaged.
Consequently, Bruh Paul has wisely advised us: ‘Wherefore take unto you (take up) the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.’ (Eph.6:13)
And what does all of that mean? Listen to the scholars. ‘6:13. Wherefore means “because of this,” that is, because we face such a formidable foe, we must avail ourselves of God’s provision lest the enemy destroy our Christian witness and ministry.
The evil day refers to the periodic demonic onslaughts and Satanic assaults. Having done all includes both dressing oneself in God’s armour and resisting Satan. Having done all these, be ready, for the Devil will attack again and again.’
Of that we can be sure my brethren! Lucifer will keep attacking us until Jesus returns and completely obliterates him. In the meanwhile though, we definitely need to be prepared; clothed in God’s protective armour and filled with His fighting strength so that we can STAND!
And having decided to do just that, let’s go home now with joyful hearts and spirits, joyfully and sincerely declaring our Tuesday Mantra.
‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’
And if we truly meant it, then let’s go out and share the beautiful, awesome, soul inspiring LOVE of Jesus with others, as He expects of us. Much LOVE!
…sharing the good news of Jesus’ LOVE…is what the Christian is all about…
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