15 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a discerner, a thief in the night, able to judge, all things, all-powerful, almighty god, archaic, be ready, believers, best gift, Bethlehem, boundaries, breath of life, Christians, Christmas, closest friend, discern his thoughts, drink up deh liquor, dust of the earth, eath up deh food, enthusiasm, erupt, eternal damnation, excuse, fellowship, fight God's word, Friday chant, friend, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, gain a foothold, generous help, God's eyes, going by everybody, in Jesus' name, inactive, inept, inner secrets, Jesus Christ, joints and marrow, limits, living, loving god, merciful, miraculous birth, naked, of man's mind, of the heart, old, opened to His eyes, party hearty, partying, piercing, powerful, pretense, quick, redeeming saviour, relationship with Jesus, relaxation, rest, safely through, save mankind, scrutiny, Second Coming of Jesus, sharper than any twoedged sword, sin, sincerity, song of freedom, soul and spirit, takes your breath away, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, thanks and praise, the dividing asunder, the enemy, the lime buss, the weekend, the Word of god, thoughts and intentions, too much leeway, volcanic fashion, week of work, workingman, you can run, you can't hide
Hebrews 4:12. For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of (is able to judge) the thoughts and intents (intentions) of the heart.
Ten more days friends, ten more days to the Big Day of Christmas! Then the celebrations will erupt in volcanic fashion, as in all parts of the world we give thanks and praise to Almighty God for the miraculous birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, born two thousand years ago on a wintry night in Bethlehem of Judea, to grow to manhood, and eventually save mankind from sin and eternal damnation.
Exalt His holy name my people, for it’s the best gift mankind has ever received! And on this chilly Friday morning, the ordinary workingman is also out there singing his song of freedom. ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! The weekend here! At long last mih li’l time of freedom come! And as is Christmas time to boot, the partying going to be even greater than usual.
We going by everybody to eat up deh food and drink up deh liquor! When the lime buss so, people wouldn’t know what hit them! And please, doh tell me nothing about partying too much nuh, because if I could work for five days straight, then I could at least party hearty for two. So just leh we thank the Lord for Fridays and weekends yes!’
And believe me friends, that is exactly what’s happening in some parts of our world. (smile) But as Christians, as believers in Jesus Christ, that is just simply too much leeway for us, as it gives the enemy too many opportunities to get a foothold in our lives and thus mess with our relationship with Jesus.
And we certainly don’t want anything to mess with that, the most important and wonderful relationship ever! That’s why we have certain boundaries and limits that we try not to cross over, and why our Friday Chant is so different to that of the ordinary workingman. So let’s declare it now nuh, with suitable enthusiasm and sincerity.
‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes my people, it doesn’t prohibit us from having fun, but it also emphasizes the necessity to get ready for next week. And, as believers, we should always be ready: readiness should be a constant state of our lives, especially being ready for the Second Coming of Jesus, which can occur at any time, like the proverbial thief in the night.
Now it’s time to check out our Bit; such a mighty piece of scripture, than when you read it, it just takes your breath away. ‘For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of (is able to judge) the thoughts and intents (intentions) of the heart.’
Ah mih bredden, that just shows that we cannot fool with the Word of God, for it’s all-seeing and knowing and more powerful than any man-made instrument! And Bruh Paul adds this addendum after our Bit which corroborates our statement. ‘Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in (hidden from) his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do (must give account).’(Heb.4:13)
Yeh friends, you can run, but you certainly can’t hide from your Creator! So those of us who are trying to get away from Him, please, let’s stop the foolishness nuh, for He knows your every move before you even think them. It’s so much easier, and wiser, to just give in to Him and say, ‘Lord, here I am, take me, I’m yours, now and forever more! Amen!’
Now here is some info from the scholars re our Bit and the succeeding verse. ‘4:12-13. For the word of God: The reason given for one’s careful scrutiny of his life involves the reality that God is intently scrutinizing it. His word is quick (living). This word is first in the Greek and is the emphasis. God’s word is not old or archaic; it is alive.
It is not inept or inactive; it is powerful (active). It reaches into the inner secrets of man’s mind to discern even his thoughts and intents. Likewise, God’s eyes sees man as though he were naked, unable to hide behind excuse or pretense.’
What more can I say eh friends? Not a whole lot. Our whole lives are open unto the One who created us from the dust of the earth, then breathed His breath of life into our frail and fragile bodies, so trying to hide anything from Him is a total waste of time.
What’s much better is going to Him with EVERYTHING! That’s what He wants and desires, so He can be an integral, or rather the most important part, closest friend, redeeming Saviour, merciful and LOVING God in our lives. That’s who He is friends! And the sooner we realize it and accept Him, the better off we shall be. Much LOVE!
…you can’t fight God’s word…because it’s All-Powerful…
08 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man of God, Antarctica, Arctic, beneficial to us, California, Christian, christian heritage, comforting, don't speak, ears, eat drink and be merry, enjoy my weekend, Equator, evil, eye-protection, fair manner, faith, fellowship, fire me, Friday chant, fun, glory hallelujah, God's will, hypocrite, idols, in Jesus' name, intense, Jesus, judgement on the proud, living truth, makes countless thousands mourn, man's inhumanity to man, mouths, no warmth, of their own hands, pound of flesh, pray on it, provision of deductions, refreshed, refuse to work overtime, relaxation, renewed, Republican Party, rest, righteousness, secular soicety, seeking God, slave master, sunshiny morning, Tax Bill, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the day of the Lord, the light of the Son, the light of the Sun, the weekend, the work of man's hands, the workingman's song, their land is full of idols, trappings of the world, trust thou in the Lord, unkind, warm, wealth, week of slavery, week of work, which their fingers have made, wildfires, wiser minds prevail, words of wisdom, worship, worship the work, worshipping idols
Isaiah 2:8. Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their fingers have made.
And behold friends, it’s a bright and sunshiny morning in my neighbourhood! But it’s cold! And that’s the big difference between the light of the Sun and the light of the Son.
The light of the sun can be so intense, you can’t even look at it without eye protection, but at the same time, depending on what part of the world you are, in certain seasons, there is no warmth in its brilliance.
The light of the Son though is an entirely different story: His light is ALWAYS warm and comforting, regardless of where you are in this great big world! It could be in the mind-numbing cold of the Arctic or Antarctica, or the excessive heat of the Equator; Jesus is, and will forever be a warm, shining light that you can look at without eye protection.
And all of God’s people declared a loud, proud and grateful: ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ Yeh, so even though the workingman has bright sunshine in which to declare his anthem today, he still has to be bundled up to do so.
And it doesn’t stop him, as he vociferously declares: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and another week of slavery done! And I don’t understand it nuh; the slave master could be so evil and unkind, even as he claims to be a man of God. He want to fire me because I refuse to work overtime on the weekend. Steups!
But what he expect eh? The weekend is the one li’l time I have off to do my business, and he expect me to give it up for the few lousy cents he want to pay me. Chuh pool! But not to worry, I going to enjoy my weekend, eat drink and be merry, and some way, get my pound of flesh from that ole crook, who call himself a Christian! Hn! That’s why I have to say thank God for Fridays and the weekends yes!’
And right there we have one of the problems that exist in our Christian faith; supposed Christians behaving in an un-Christian-like manner. Now we don’t have to give in to all the requests of our employees, but we do have to treat them in a fair and Christian manner, otherwise that’s the conception they develop of us; an hypocritical one, and rightly so.
And talking about being unfair and unkind, listen to this scenario. You all know the Republican Party in the U.S is trying to pass a very bad Tax Bill, very much weighted in favour of the already rich, but one element of that Bill is supposedly removing the provision of deductions for loss of property from things like wildfires and earthquakes. Hn!
Can you imagine the devastating effect that will have on those people in California who have already been through wildfires earlier on in the year, and those who are currently undergoing the tremendous calamity of the now raging, out of control fires in that State?
No wonder we say that man’s inhumanity to man, makes countless thousands mourn. In this case though, it will be more like countless millions. Let’s hope wiser minds prevail, and that Tax Bill, or at least that provision does not get passed. Let’s pray on it please friends.
Now let’s chant our Friday Chant, which is a tad more spiritual than the workingman’s song. (smile) All together now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yeh mih people, that’s more in tune with our Christian heritage; seeking God’s will rather than ours. That brings us to a rather appropriate Bit, where Isaiah talks about the day of the Lord, His judgement on the proud. ‘Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their fingers have made.’
And isn’t that the living truth friends? In this sinful and secular society today, we worship the things we have made, running behind the wealth and other foolish trappings of the world, instead of seeking God and His awesome righteousness. In fact we’re trying our hardest to remove God completely from our society.
How foolish is that eh? How can you remove the One who created you? And how can you worship something that you have made with your own hands eh; something that has no life or power?
As the psalmist so wisely and rightly puts it in Psalm 115 – Trust in God, not in idols. ‘Their idols are silver and gold, the work of man’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.’ (Ps.115:4-8)
That says it all friends! Why worship the inanimate objects that you yourself have made eh? That makes absolutely no sense. What makes sense is to do as the psalmist says afterwards. ‘O Israel, trust thou in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.’ (Ps.115:9)
And with those words of awesome wisdom, we’ll close today. Please, my brethren, let’s take them to heart and follow them nuh, for they will be exceedingly beneficial to us. Much LOVE!
…what’s the use of worshipping idols…if they have no power to do anything for you…
04 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adrenaline, ambassadors, aura of love, bombarded, buffeted, Christians, Christmas, compromise, confidence, conquerors, diligent, disciples, drinking, eating, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, evil forces, excellence, faithful, fear, festive season, forgiveness, friends, glorious kingdom, glory to God, holy spirit, humble servants, invincible, Jesus, jobs, laziness, lies, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, negative pangs, no man can work, not afraid, of him who sent me, peace, preparations, presnets, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, run away from work, salvation, Samaritan, servants, shopping, spiritual armour, state of mind, steadfast faith, suffering, the last days, the night cometh, the reason for the season, trust, truth, ungodly world, up to par, useful purpose, week of work, while it is day, wiles, wisdom, work, work the works
John 9:4: I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
So friends, as we rush headlong into the festive season of Christmas, let’s not forget the real, the ONE and ONLY reason for Christmas: Jesus! Not the shopping, the presents, the eating and drinking and otherwise.
And yuh know, life is so strange, that on most Monday mornings many of us have a hard time getting out of bed to go to work, but in this Christmas time we eagerly roll out because we have shopping and other preparations to make before the big day! Don’t know if some of our employers are, or will be very thrilled by that nuh, because this is when we take a lot of paid time off, in other words, run away from work to go shopping etc.
Thank the Lord that I don’t have any personal preparations to make! (smile) I’m just trying to keep my life on an even and balanced keel during this crazy time. I think I’ll spend the time I would normally devote to preparations in pondering on Jesus and all that He means and stands for. That ought to serve me in better stead than busily running around the place trying to accomplish what the world considers important at this time of the year.
And having said all of that, let’s turn to our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, our picker-upper to help us get out the door in a Jesus state of mind. In loud, enthusiastic voice now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN! ‘
Yes mih people, that was an excellent rendition! Our choirmaster Jesus was pleased with it. So now let’s get out on the road and keep that level of adrenaline flowing and our spirits bubbling with His energy and Spirit, as we do His ambassadorial work, furthering His LOVE Revolution! Mama Mia! The ole fella’s in good form this morning! (smile)
That brings us to our rather appropriate Bit: ‘I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.’
And please note the picking of that Bit wasn’t my doing; it was divine guidance. As always, I asked for guidance on what to write on, and as I opened the Good Book, my eyes fell on that verse. Glory to God! He is such a wonderful, LOVING and faithful Deity! That’s the only reason why I can write the Bit every day.
Oh friends, just as Jesus had to do the work of the Father who sent Him, as His disciples and ambassadors, we too need to do the work that Jesus’ commissioned us to do. ‘…Teaching all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always(s), even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
And Jesus was very diligent in doing the Father’s work. Listen to Him as the disciples offered Him food after He had spoken to the Samaritan woman at the well. ‘My meat (food) is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.’ (John 4:34)
Oh my fellow believers, Jesus certainly wasn’t skylarking on the Father’s job. Likewise we should all be diligent in doing Jesus’ work. Unfortunately though, too many of us are not as diligent as we should be, and thus Jesus’ work is suffering; suffering from the negative pangs of fear, compromise, and simple laziness. That’s not good my people.
Remember Jesus said we should be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, so that the world could look to us and see His wonderful reflection in us, and thus want to come to Him for succor; to enjoy His awesome LOVE, grace, mercy, forgiveness, redemption, salvation and eternal life. And it’s obvious to even a blind person, that we’re not doing a bang up job, because people are turning away from God in droves.
If our diligence and excellence were up to par, unbelievers would be beating down Jesus’ door to get into His kingdom. Now that shoddy work doesn’t look very good on us my brethren, especially as the last days come into view. So please, I implore us to take very seriously the words of Jesus in our Bit, and let’s go about His business as He went about the Father’s business. That’s the only way we’ll ever conquer the evil forces of this evil world and win the unbelievers to Him. Much LOVE!
…until He comes again…Jesus’ work is never done…
01 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: add insult to injury, all knees bow, all things consist, angelic beings, authorities, awesome glory, before all things, believing, black up, boundaries, by himself, Christian faith, Colossian heresy, control, dominions, drink up mih liquor, each step, eat down the place, exaltation, fellowship, first-born, Friday chant, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, greed, incompetence, inhumane behaviour, injustice, invisible, Jesus Christ, make a decent living, overboard, party like no tomorrow, pay homage to angels, pittance for pay, powers, pre-eminent Christ, principalities, prosperous world, purged our sins, ranks of angels, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, rulers, sat down, sins, slave labour, slaving finish, song of freedom, strife, studying the Word, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the brightness of his glory, the enemy, the express image of his person, the means of livelihood, the right hand of the majesty, the tempter's grasp, the weekend situation, the word of his power, thrones, thumb mih nose, upholding all things, visible, week of work, workingman, worship
Hebrews 1:3. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged (cleansed) our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Ah yes friends, we’ve finally progressed to the magical day called Friday… And the workingman will most definitely remind us of that fact as he vociferously declares his song of freedom. ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday, and slaving finish for this week! The next couple days is mih own to do with exactly as I please. And brother, yuh better believe I’m going to do just that!
Wow! I’m going to eat down the place, if I want to; drink up mih liquor until ah black up and tumbling down; party like there was no tomorrow, and just thumb mih nose at the massa till Monday morning roll around again. Whew! Thank God for Fridays and the weekends yes, otherwise I’d just go crazy with this slave labour and a pittance for pay!’
Unfortunately my brethren, the ordinary workingman is finding it increasingly difficult to make a decent living in this prosperous world through the greed, incompetence and inhumane behaviour of those who own and control the means of livelihood. And sometimes you can’t really blame him when he goes overboard because the rampant injustice and strife in our society is more than enough to drive a body crazy.
Luckily for us, we belong to the Christian faith, where our Leader Jesus Christ applies boundaries to our behaviour, so we don’t go overboard and fall into the tempter’s grasp. That’s why our Friday Chant is so different to the workingman’s song. So let’s chant it out now nuh, and thus give us the better picture of how believers ought to handle the weekend situation.
In chorus now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes my fellow believers, we ought to put Christ first and get ourselves ready for another week of work, rather than add insult to injury by beating down our bodies even further and giving the enemy control of our lives. And for all of our blessings and good tidings, we have to thank our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, as our Bit says:
‘Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged (cleansed) our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.’
And today we are going to delve a li’l deeper into verses 16-17 of Col.1, where Bruh Paul talks about the pre-eminence of Christ, to help us understand the full significance of our Bit. ‘For by him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in (on) earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities (rulers), or powers (authorities): all things are created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by (in) him all things consist.’ (Col.1:16-17)
The scholars then explain thus: ‘1:16. This verse provides the reason Christ is called the “first-born” in verse 15. Paul’s rationale is this: Since by him were all things created, then, (1) Christ must have existed before the universe, and (2) He must be greater than all He made. Thrones…dominions…principalities…powers all refer to angelic beings (cf. Eph.1:21; 3:10).
“Thrones” refer to angels who sit on thrones as rulers; “dominions” refer to domains or kingdoms over which these heavenly beings reign; “principalities” refer to rulers, and “powers” refer to angelic monarchs who wield regal power. Since Christ created these various ranks of angels, He is supreme over them.
Striking a blow at the Colossian heresy advocating angel worship (2:18), this text forbids Christians to pay homage to angels or other heavenly beings created by God.’ And re ‘1:17. By him all things consist: That is by Him all things are held together; Christ now preserves all that He made in Creation.’
Yeh friends, Christ made it all, and now holds His creation together, as He sits at the Father’s right hand advocating on our behalf. So let’s remember that and thus keep everything in its proper perspective: Christ is Creator, Lord and Saviour, and the ONLY ONE deserving of worship and exaltation, not angels or any other beings He has made.
Tomorrow we will touch some more on the angel situation, but for today, let’s ponder what we’ve said and keep believing, keep studying the Word and living it out successfully in this evil world, in Jesus name, I pray. Much LOVE!
…to whom eventually shall all knees bow…and all lips declare His awesome glory…JESUS…
27 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: aura of love, blues, charged up, charities, climactic, complain, complete, confidence, conquerors, Creator of the universe, dangerous, deeper in debt, do life with Christ, dragging, dreams, economy crashed, enthusiasm, events, express image, food banks, fragmentary, friends, fun, glorious kingdom, glory, glory to God, God-filled day, greedy businessmen, heir, high heavens, holy spirit, humble servants, incarnation, incomplete, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, labour, lies, LOVE, message, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, motive, not feeling too hot, Old Testament, peace, prophets, pumpkin pies, purged our sins, quick to fire, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, Revelation, righteousness., sales gimmicks, salvation, sat down at the right hand, slave master, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, tempo, thanksgiving weekend, the agent of God, the brightness of his glory, the bucket bottom drops out, the day of calamity, the end of time, the land of plenty, the Lord in favour, the Majesty on high, the medium, the word of his power, traffic jams, trust, truth, Turkey, unfair, upholding all things, visions, warm beds, week of work, wiles, wisdom, zest
Hebrews 1:3. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person , and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged (cleansed) our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Awright mih breddren, it’s the big one – one more time! Yes my people, it’s that most wonderful day called Monday, where we unwillingly exit out warm beds, put on warm clothing and head for the big city, mired in traffic jams, to labour, to labour…and yet to labour.
Down in the U.S. this was Thanksgiving weekend, so you can imagine the state of many workers; definitely not the greatest. And after the turkey and pumpkin pie, you had the crazy shopping on Black Friday, and more shopping today on Cyber Monday… Steups!
It’s all about commercialism, when half the people don’t have any jobs, and many of those who do have jobs, don’t even have sufficient money to make ends meet. Just look at the recent proliferation of food banks and charities providing food to unfortunate families in this land of plenty nuh.
But yet they keep coming up with sales gimmicks to get people deeper and deeper in debt. And when the economy crashes, when the bucket bottom drops out, because debt was too cheap and easily available, the same ones who made it so, complain to the high heavens. Chuh! Just a bunch of foolish, greedy businessmen!
Anyway friends, those of us who have jobs had better get up and get a move on, else we soon might not have one. Yuh know how the slave master quick to fire! And if yuh not feeling too hot this morning, and yuh just dragging, then please sing along with us, as we sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, to get us all charged up and ready to go out and do life with and for Christ.
With plenty zest and good tempo now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh friends, that prayer never fails to work! It just drives away all the early morning blues and gets the adrenaline going, so we can concentrate properly on Christ’s work, as we steadfastly seek Him, His kingdom and His righteousness. Glory to the Most High God my faithful brethren!
And when we talking about glory, we definitely need to put Jesus in the highest category, as the author of Hebrews explains in the first four verses of his book, which contains our Bit. ‘God, who at sundry times (in many instances) and in divers manners (many ways) spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds (ages);
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged (cleansed) our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.’ (Heb.1:1-4)
Now let’s look at some explanations from the scholars. ‘1:1-2. The author immediately shows that Jesus Christ, as the agent of God’s revelation, is far superior to the Old Testament prophets. Their message was fragmentary and incomplete. It came bit by bit through visions, dreams events, and direct communication as men were ready to receive it. Christ’s revelation is climactic and complete, because He is the Son and because His is the message for the last days. His incarnation initiated the end time, and it will be fulfilled when He returns to earth to reconcile and restore all things (cf. Acts 2:16-17; 3:19-21; 1 Pet.1:20).’
Yeh friends, it’s all about Jesus Christ! He is the medium, the motive and the message! (smile) Everything revolves around Him, and until we realize that, our lives will not be complete, nor will we have the peace and joy that He desires, that He died for us to have.
So please take a few moments to ponder all we’ve said, and check out those scriptures listed by the scholars, as they will provide invaluable information on our topic. Till tomorrow then, the Lord in favour, I pray that we all will have a blessed and beautiful, God-filled day. Much LOVE!
…in the day of calamity…who yuh going to call…Jesus Christ…because He has all the answers…
24 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ., 24-7, attention, believers, Black Friday, blessings, boundaries attuned to Christ, bounden duty, celebrations, Christians, conform to, creed, cued to God's work, destiny, drunk or sober, emporium, enthusiasm, ever-faithful, exaltation, excellent, fatness, fellowship, flowing like water, fortress, fountian of life, Friday chant, fun, generous help, give thanks, glorious kingdom, glory, glory to God, go overboard, gospel truth, Granny's warning, gravitate to excess, heavenly Father, holy spirit, honour, in Jesus' name, indisputable truth, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, latter times, libations, light, LOVE, loverly, loving-kindness, mercies, mind yuh business, minefields, modicum of circumspection, mortal danger, navigate, obedience, of thy wings, ole, open every day, party time, partying, pitfalls, precious, put their trust, rejoicing, relaxation, rest, river of pleasures, sales, satisfied, some form and fashion, steadfast love of God, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, thanksgiving weekend, the best deal, the children of men, the church, the weekend, the workingman, time for food, tower of strength, trust, under the shadow, week of work, wisdom, wonderful god
Psalm 36:7. How excellent (precious) is thy LOVING-kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
Another new day…more new mercies, blessings etc. flowing generously from the open hand of our wonderful God! But this day is special to most of us because it’s Friday, which announces the start of the weekend, our short break from work.
And as the workingman sings his song: ‘Ole, Ole, TGIF! Thank God is Friday! Ole, Ole, Thank God for the weekend…Thanksgiving weekend to boot! No more chupid labour. Is party time! Time for food and family and friends and endless libations flowing like water. Yuh can’t give thanks just so. It have to be accompanied by rejoicing and partying! Thank the Lord for this big Thanksgiving weekend party!’
And no doubt many of us will conform to that creed and live it out this weekend. But we have to remember there is mortal danger where and whenever we gravitate to excess, especially as Christians. Our Leader, Jesus Christ has provided us with boundaries that we should not exceed, if we wish to stay attuned to Him and His organization, the church.
That’s why we don’t go overboard in our celebrations, but retain a modicum of circumspection, like our Friday Chant attests to. Let’s chant it now like we truly mean it nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Ah friends, it’s not as excessive as the workingman’s anthem, and most importantly, it is cued to God’s work, furthering His kingdom in some form and fashion in all that we do. As believers, that’s our bounden duty, our destiny. So we always have to have our wits about us.
As Granny would warn: ‘Sonny boy, drunk or sober, please mind yuh business!’ (smile) And though it sounds funny, it’s gospel truth. We all need to be careful how we go about in these latter times, as the world abounds with numerous pitfalls in every direction we look or take. And it’s only with the help of Jehovah God and His Spirit which dwells within us, that we are able to successfully navigate the many minefields that surround our daily lives.
And all God’s children gave a loud and grateful shout of ‘Glory to God! Give Him the praise! Exalt His Holy Name! For His LOVING-kindness endures forever!’ That’s why Bruh David could declare with overwhelming confidence and assurance the immortal words of our Bit from Psalm 36 – The steadfast LOVE of God.
‘How excellent (precious) is thy LOVING-kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.’
Now that is indisputable truth and true wisdom to the max! Our God’s goodness is indeed outstanding, and wise children of men choose to adore and obey Him, to live under the shadow of His mighty and everlasting wings! Glory to God mih people! I just had to say it again, so great was the enthusiasm those words and thoughts produced in my spirit that my mouth needed to declare His honour and glory. (smile)
And if you don’t believe our Bit, listen to how Bruh David continues, how he states his case, like any good lawyer. ‘They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness (fullness) of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.’ (Ps.36:8-9)
Oh friends, oh friends, that is the best deal going on this Thanksgiving Black Friday where all those businesses are touting their sales! Steups! But NONE of them can match God’s promotion! Life and light and fatness and pleasurable drink! And the great thing about God’s offer is that it’s open and available every day that you are alive, 24-7!
Mama Mia! Which child of men’s offer can match that eh? Absolutely NONE! Consequently, my brethren, I would strongly advise us that the first place to visit on this Black Friday Sale morning is that of Almighty God. Right in that one place you will find everything you want, lack, need and can ever desire! Wow! What a mighty fortress and tower of strength is our God!
And believe me friends, I’m chuckling here, because this is all the work of the Holy Spirit, of our great and ever-faithful heavenly Father, because I had no clue what I was going to write about when I first began, except our Friday Chant. I didn’t even know how today’s version of the workingman’s song would pan out. But as always…my God came through for me. Glory Hallelujah!
And He will come through for you too, if you give Him the attention and obedience and exaltation He requires. Much LOVE!
…Jehovah God’s Emporium…the BEST place to do business…in all the world…
P.S. Oh, it’s a li’l bit late, but I think it’s ‘loverly!’ and worth the wait.(smile) Much LOVE!
20 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a believer in Christ, an expected end, assurance, aura of love, Babylon, boost spirits, breath of life, bring to fruition, calamity, concrete jungle, confidence, conquerors, curtains for us, earthly life, enthusiasm, eternal life, eternal separation, everlasting life, excuses, families, foolish, friends, fruitful vine, future, glorious kingdom, God's plans, hard worker, he who has ears to hear, hope, human being, humble servants, hunker down, I think toward you, in His own image, invincible, Israelites, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, joy, joyless enormous price, laziness, lies, lose nothing, LOVE, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, negative effects, not of evil, peace, privilege, procrastination, raise it up again, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, reverse, salvation, sins, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, the last day, the will of God, the worst thing, thoughts, to die for us, trust, truth, undisciplined, ungodly world, weary souls, week of work, welcomed in heaven, wiles, will not cast out, wisdom, worthwhile intentions
Jeremiah 29:11. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith, the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).
Ah friends, the days are rolling by quickly and who knows how much time we have left to successfully perform any tasks, or bring to fruition whatever plans God has in store for us. That means we’ve got to get with the program right away; no excuses, laziness or procrastination, but be a diligent, hard worker and fruitful vine bearer for Christ. So that at the end of our days, He’ll greet us with that wonderful, big smile, a tantalizing bear hug, and the overwhelming invitation: ‘Welcome! Welcome home, thou good and faithful servant!’
Wow mih breddren, there can’t be any better welcoming words than those anywhere in the universe! But for our lives to play out that way, means we have to begin by being fired up this Monday morning; no whining and complaining; just seriously, sincerely and conscientiously going about the Lord’s business. Oh, I know some Monday mornings it’s difficult to roll out of the warm and comfortable bed to face our cruel and evil world, especially as the chills of winter descend upon us, in the northern climes.
But that’s why we have our Monday Morning Battle Hymn; to boost our spirits, reverse all the negative effects of an undisciplined weekend (smile) and get us ready to face whatever comes against us with the energy, assurance, joy and peace that come from being a believer in, and a follower of our wonderful Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. So let’s blast it out as passionately as we can nuh.
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Awright mih people, yuh see how our Battle Hymn changes our entire perspective, how our passion rises as we trill it to the high heavens? So let’s keep that adrenaline flowing nuh, as we get out onto the highways and byways and make our way to the concrete jungles and hunker down to labour for another day. But all the while keeping the unbreakable promise of our Bit solidly grounded in our hearts, bodies, minds and souls. ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith, the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’
Yeh friends, even when God punished the Israelites by having Babylon take them captive, He promised to bring them back to Jerusalem after seventy years. Hopefully, they would have learned their lesson by then. And it’s the same way my faithful brethren that the Lord has good plans for us, plans to give us hope, joy and peace. Why would He create us in His own image, give us His breath of life and then, when we screw up, send His Son Jesus to die for us, if He didn’t have good and worthwhile intentions towards us eh?
Listen to Jesus tell it like it is: ‘All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise (certainly not) cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.’ (John 6:37-40)
Oh my people, does that sound like a God who has bad intentions towards us? Certainly not! He wants only the best for us, that’s why He sent Jesus to die for our abominable sins; to give us a hope and a future; otherwise it would have been curtains for us, certain calamity through eternal separation from Him. And believe me, eternal separation from Almighty God is the WORST thing that can ever happen to a human being!
So friends, please let’s take this earthly life seriously, let’s take Jesus seriously, because if we don’t, we’ll end up paying an enormous price for the dubious privilege of being foolish. We don’t have to be miserable and joyless, because Jesus came to give us joy, but we do have to be sensible, thoughtful and wise if we want to be welcomed in heaven. Much LOVE!
…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…else he will certainly feel…
17 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a refresher course, abundance, abuse, anathema, as small as ever, back into action, backbreaking work, badgered, baser nature, be a part of the world, be not envious, bite the bullet, boundaries, bow to, catch up, cease from anger, chant up a storm, christianity, Christians, crapaud smoke we pipe, cut down, days off, delight thyself, desire to be with them, deteriorating, do good, drop down dead, dwell in the land, each step I take, economic situation, envious, evil men, evildoers, extremes, fairly divided, feed on his faithfulness, fellowship, fight the good fight, forget the toil, forsake wrath, freedom, fret not thyself, Friday chant, from morning till night, fun, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, going overboard, greedier, heap more abuse, in Jesus' name, in soul body and mind, inherit the earth, iniquity, invitations, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, justice, killing me with work, like grass, live for Jesus, live in the world, LOVE, marginalized, next week, noonday, party, paycheck, prosperity, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, rest, Rest in the Lord, righteousness, rise up, run the the good race, seek the Lord, senseless, slave master, temptations, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the desires of thine heart, the green herb, the Lord's authority, the poor category, the rich, the will, the workingman, the world order, tiring, tools, trust in the Lord, unfair, wait patiently for the Lord, week of work, wicked schemes, wither, workers of iniquity, worldly lures
Proverbs 24:1. Be not thou envious against (of) evil men, neither desire to be with them.
And then it was Friday…the day we all look forward to! And everybody shouted a loud ‘Yeah, Friday at last!’
I don’t know if our society is arranged the best that it can be nuh friends, and there doesn’t seem to be any movement afoot to change it. So we go, go, go for 5 days from morning till night, then are suddenly catapulted into 2 days of supposed freedom, where we try to catch up with our own lives, then get right back into action again on Monday morning.
No wonder it’s tiring and causes the workingman to loudly declare at the end of each week: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes mih brethren! One more day of work and I’d drop down dead! The slave master so unfair; killing me with work, but the paycheck as small as ever. The backbreaking work we do for the man…and all he does is heap more abuse on us. Steupssss!
That’s why when Friday come, we just have to go out and party till we senseless! Is the only thing that makes us forget the toil and abuse we have to go back to on Monday! All I can say is Thank God for Fridays and the weekends yes! Otherwise crapaud surely smoke we pipe!’
Ah mih people, the economic situation is surely deteriorating in a world that’s chock full of abundance. It’s just not properly, fairly divided. The rich are getting greedier and richer, while more people are being marginalized and falling into the poor category. That’s why sometimes you can’t get annoyed with the workingman’s behaviour. Christians on the other hand, are expected to bite the bullet to a certain extent and don’t allow our baser nature to flourish. (smile)
That’s why our Friday Chant is so different from the workingman’s anthem. So let’s chant up a storm nuh, and release our frustrations, the way that Jesus would like and expect us to do. Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Yes my fellow believers, it’s not an easy world we live in, nor an easy faith we follow, but be assured that whatever our God desires of us, He will give us the will and the wherewithal to accomplish it. That’s why we can adhere to the boundaries set out in our faith, the not going overboard, or doing stuff in excess, to the extremes.
And what makes it even more difficult is that all around us we encounter the worldly lures, invitations and eye-pleasing temptations that are such a big part of our evil world. They are supposedly anathema to godly people, but yet we are expected to live amongst them and not be too affected by them.
No, it’s definitely not easy, when almost every minute of every day in this increasingly evil society, we are badgered by some ungodly temptation, and to top it all, then face the increasing prosperity of those who fall for, or bow to the world order.
Our faith quite plainly warns us: ‘Be not thou envious against (of) evil men, neither desire to be with them.’ And if we want to live a godly life and eventually see the face of God in heaven throughout eternity, then we have to live up to the warning. Because, here is what happens to those who follow the wicked world order.
Bruh David explains it to us in Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked. ‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.’ (Ps.37:1-2)
Yes friends, that’s what is going to happen to those who don’t follow Jehovah God. And all the worldly prosperity and power won’t be able to help you when that time comes. So if you want to be cut down like the grass, then go right ahead and do what the world considers acceptable.
However, if you are wise and acknowledge the Lord’s authority, you will do like Bruh David recommends. ‘Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on His faithfulness). Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Commit they way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement (justice) as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise (way) to do evil (for it only causes harm). For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps.37:1-9)
Yeh mih breddren, that’s Christianity course 101! (smile) And I guess the Lord thought we needed a refresher course this morning, that’s why He led me to that particular scripture.
Oh my fellow believers in Christ, we all know it’s not easy to live IN the world and not be a part OF it, but if we sincerely seek the Lord, He will definitely give us the tools to do just that. Remember He is faithful that promised. So let’s rise up and be strong nuh, fight the good fight and run the good race in Jesus name. Amen! Much LOVE!
…Jesus gave His life for us…the least we can do…is live our lives for Him…
03 Nov 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a drunken sailor, a word of warning, acloholic beverages, balanced, be not proud, Bible, blessed day, blow yuh mind, bring an offering, come into his courts, cotton to sin, crapaud smoke we pipe, dark mountains, darkness, disasters, earthly life, fear, fellowship, fight the good fight, flow like water, food plentiful, Friday chant, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, Gentiles, give ear, give glory to the Lord, give unto the Lord, glory and strength, glory due his name, go overboard, God is faithful, God's generosity, God's sensibilities, guidance, guide book, hear ye, holiness, immortal words, in Jesus' name, Israel, Jeremiah, judge the people, licentious, look for light, move away from sin, on the serious side, partying, praise God, ready for the weekend, realistic, refreshed, relaxation, renewed, repent, rest, resting, righteously, sensible, shadow of death, sin, sinful, soul body and mind, sufficent to the wise, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, thankful, the bass line, the Good Book, the heathen, the Lord hath spoken, the Lord reigns, the music loud and heavy, the waters, the workingman, there comes a time, thumping through yuh heart, to heel, tremble, tribute, ungodliness, ungodly, vices, warning signs, warnings, week of work, weekends, well-balanced lives, worship the Lord, wrath, your feet stumble
Jeremiah 13:15. Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken.
Add another one friends! Yes, add another blessed day to your earthy life. The Lord’s just overwhelming in His generosity towards us, for which we ought to be thankful. And it’s Friday too, thus the workingman is singing his song.
‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday… And am I ever ready for the weekend! The waters (alcoholic beverages) going to flow like water…the food’s going to be so plentiful that it’ll just blow yuh mind… and the music loud and heavy, with the bass line just thumping through yuh heart… Bredder! It going to be a great weekend of simply partying….party, party, party! Thank God for Fridays and weekends oui!’
Ah mih people, I don’t know about you all nuh, but I simply cannot handle that much partying…and I definitely don’t want that bass line thumping through my chest. I’ve felt it already, and it’s not a pleasant sensation.
On the serious side though, all of that is just too much. Where is our Maker in all of it eh? Shouldn’t we find some time for Him in all the ‘kerfuffle’ of the weekend? Surely we should!
What about resting and getting ourselves ready to go back out next week and fight the good fight eh? None of that is contained in the workingman’s song, but there certainly is need for it, if we are to live well-balanced, godly lives.
That’s why our Friday Chant is a much better tribute to the weekend. So let’s sing it with much gusto now nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
That’s much more realistic and sensible and doesn’t go overboard in any one direction, but keeps us balanced in God’s sensibilities. And it brings us to our Bit for today: ‘Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken.’
And yuh know what friends, until just now, I had no idea what the Bit would be. But as usual, I asked for guidance and then opened the Good Book… And lo and behold it opened unto the book of Jeremiah, and those were the first words that caught my eye.
Yuh see how our God is faithful! And today He didn’t even have me searching for long. (smile) Some days He does though. So, as I keep saying, He won’t ask you to do something without giving you the wherewithal to do it.
And in this particular case, though Jeremiah was having problems communicating with his people Israel, the Lord was still putting immortal words in his mouth. This section deals with Israel being like a drunken sailor come ashore; like the workingman above, with sin and virulent vice and ungodliness rampant in the nation.
Therefore Jeremiah is crying out to his people, the warning words of their God. ‘Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.’ (Jer.13:16)
Oh my people, I believe the Lord is giving us the same warning today, because there’s no doubt that our world is as sinful, ungodly and licentious as that of Israel back then. I’ll even wager that we are worse than them. And if the Bible is our Guide Book for earthly living, then we ought to pay careful attention to such words of warning anytime our world parallels those gone before.
And moreover, I believe that all the natural and man-made disasters that have been recently befalling our world are also warning signs from God. We can sit down and debate and contemplate all we want, but the truth of the matter is that Almighty God exists, and He does not cotton to sin in any society in His universe.
And eventually, there comes a time, after giving that society time to repent and move away from their sinfulness, that He unleashes His awesome wrath on selfsame society, and either brings them to heel, or wipes them out completely.
We just have to go back through history to see the many societies which became powerful and sinful, and not worshipping Holy God, that eventually became extinct. Some of them were so violently and rapidly wiped off the map, that we have very little information or artifacts from their ascendancy here on earth.
Oh my people, all I’m saying is that it’s better to be safe than sorry. Let’s take in front before in front takes us nuh. Let’s take God’s warnings seriously and change our sinful ways, before He obliterates us in His anger.
As the psalmist recommends in Psalm 96 – A call to praise God: Let’s ‘Give (ascribe) unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give (ascribe) unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts.
O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear (tremble) before him, all the earth. Say among the heathen (gentiles) that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be (is firmly) established that it shall not be moved (shaken): he shall judge the people righteously.’ (Ps.96.7-10)
All I can say friends, is that for our own sakes, we had better take that wise advice, otherwise…crapaud will eventually smoke we pipe! Much LOVE!
…a word of warning to the wise…is sufficient…
27 Oct 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a different attitude, abuse our bodies, afflicted me, bastards, be discouraged, be in subjection, bear our load, bondage of sin, bore our sins, boundaries, chastening, chastisement, Christians, complaining, corrected, crown of glory, delightful experience, diligent, discipline, dissipation, do god's work, drinking, each step I take, eating, endure chastening, endure your afflictions, eternal life, exhortation, faint, faithfulness, fellowship, Friday chant, fun, furthering your glorious kingdom, generous help, gift of grace, God's testing, God's Word, good and faithful servant, grievous, grow, holiness, I know, illegitimate, in Jesus' name, Jesus Christ, joyous, last day on earth, laws, life is not easy, limitations, LOVE, made it through, massa, mature, O Lord, our flesh, our profit, partakers, party all weekend, partying, pay back, peaceable fruit, personal experience, pound of flesh, rebuked, reforming, refreshed, relaxation, remoulding, renewed, respect, rest, reverence, righteous, righteousness, run our race, salvation, sense of purpose, sons, spare the rod, spoil the child, strong, tests, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the bad times, the Father of spirits, the good times, the image of Jesus, the weekend, their own pleasure, thy judgements, trials, week of work, welcome, with vim and vigour, work like an animal, work schedule, work soon finish, workers, workingman
Psalm 119:75. I know, O Lord, that thy judgements (laws) are right (righteous), and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
And all over God’s great universe, this morning the general cry is, was, and will be: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday and work soon finish for two whole lousy days! Steups! But we going to get in as much fun, as much partying as we can in those two days though! That’s for sure!
Man wasn’t made to work like an animal all them days, one after the other. That’s how massa gets his pound of flesh, But we going to get our pound of flesh by partying down the place, by eating and drinking as though it was our last day here on earth. Thank God for Fridays and weekends yes!’
Ah friends, when are ever going to learn that pay back never really works. Yuh think massa really cares that his workers party all weekend? To a certain extent yes, but generally speaking, no! Not unless their dissipation interferes with his work schedule.
And if it does, he can just fire them, deprive them of their livelihood. So who loses then eh? Certainly not massa! That’s why we Christians have a different attitude towards the weekend, which is borne out in our Friday Chant.
Let’s chant it in strong voice and sincere sense of purpose like the workingman chants his song nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Ah mih people, the working life is not easy, but remember with God’s help, we can do anything at all! That’s why our song differs from the ordinary workingman’s. We know we can’t abuse our bodies or anything else and continue to do God’s work in a proper manner.
That’s why we have boundaries and limitations to how far we can go; otherwise we’d just go overboard like the workingman and be of no use to Jesus. So please let’s be sensible and stay within those boundaries this weekend nuh.
We have enough other stuff to worry about, as our Bit indicates. ‘I know, O Lord, that thy judgements (laws) are right (righteous), and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.’
Yeh friends, we have tests and trials that our Lord is putting us through to grow and mature us, so we can’t waste our time in partying, and simply enjoying the good life as the world sees it.
We need to be strong and diligent and run our earthly race with vim and vigour, wisdom and understanding, if at the end of our days here on earth, we want Him to greet us in heaven with a crown of glory and words to the effect: ‘Welcome thou good and faithful servant!’
My people, that’s the best welcome we can ever, or will ever get! So please let’s work seriously towards it nuh, and start by not complaining too much about the things that come against us through God’s testing.
I can tell you from personal experience that it’s not a delightful experience when He has you on His potter’s wheel, working diligently on you, to bring you ever closer to the image of His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
But our God is so wonderful that even as He is remoulding and reforming you, He will also give you the wherewithal to endure your afflictions. He’s promised never to give us more than we can bear or carry. And if that ever happens, He will carry us Himself or bear our load for us.
That’s what Jesus did for us: He bore our sins, so that we could be set free from the bondage of sin. And we don’t want to fall back into it, by refusing His free gift of grace, through salvation and eternal life.
But if we’re going to be truly successful, we must also learn to accept the good times as well as the rough times without cursing God or turning away from Him as Job’s wife encouraged him to do. (Job 2:9-10)
And the author of Hebrews puts it all in New Testament language for us, beginning with Cousin Sol’s words. ‘And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children (sons), My son, despise not thou the chastening (discipline) of the Lord, nor faint (be discouraged) when thou art rebuked of him:
For whom the Lord LOVETH he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom his father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards (illegitimate), and not sons.
Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which have corrected us, and we gave them reverence (respect): shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure (as seemed best to them); but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.’ (Heb.12:5-11)
That says it all friends! If we want to be considered a son by our heavenly Father, then we must undergo His discipline, just like we do for our earthly fathers. No ifs, ands, or buts about it! Much LOVE!
…spare the rod…spoil the child…that’s God’s Word…
P.S. My sincere apologies for the Bit being so late. I went out to the theatre last night and just never got my act together this morning. (smile) Much LOVE!
Previous Older Entries Next Newer Entries
SCRIP-BITS 