22 Dec 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new vision, a standing O, adrenalin, almighty god, aura of love, awe, bestowed on, blot out our sins, Bruh Joseph, But as for you, but god intended it got good, care, christmas day, concern, confidence, death, doing good, eternal life, eternity in heaven, fallacy, fear not, forgiveness from sins, friends, gifts, glorification of God, glory hallelujah, God's justice, gospel truth, Hades, holy spirit, incarnate birth of Jesus christ, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, joy, languish forever, leading and guiding, loved, loving kindness, Lucifer, magnificent and magnanimous God, mind games, miracle birth of Christ, Monday, Monday Morniing Battle Hymn, offered up Jesus as a sacrifice, persecution, plan, praise, reconciliation, rejoice, rejoice in the birth of christ, rejuvenation of spirit, relief, sacrifice, sacrificial lamb, save much people alive, slavery, spiritual armour, spirituality, steadfast faith, thanskgiving, the cross at Calvary, the Godhead, the Holy Trinity, the shedding of blood, the Spirit of God, to know Jesus is to love Him, trust, uncoditional love, undeserving mankind, ungodly world, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, wisdom, wonderment, worship, you intended evil against me
Genesis 50:20. But as for you, ye thought (intended) evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Oh mih people, mih people, is Monday! Yes Friends, it’s the Monday before Christmas Day! Only two more days and the world will erupt with joy and thanksgiving, praise and worship, with awe and wonderment at the miracle birth of Christ! Glory Hallelujah!
That means my brethren that today must also be a joyful day. All the days ought to be joyful, but this is one of those yearly occasions where the level of joy and glorification of Almighty God is raised to higher heights!
That’s because the incarnate birth of His Son is one of the greatest gifts that our magnificent and magnanimous God has ever bestowed on undeserving mankind!
We don’t deserve anything of the kind, but such is God’s care, concern and unconditional LOVE for us, that He inaugurated a mind-bending plan, to give us relief, forgiveness from our sins.
Unfortunately it was the only solution possible, taking into account God’s justice system, where sin must be paid for by death, by the shedding of blood. And the only unblemished, sinless soul beside Him was His Son Jesus Christ. But He readily gave Him up as a sacrificial Lamb, whose shed blood would blot out our sins for all time.
Ah mih people, that is what you call real and true LOVE! So please feel LOVED, LOVED by Jehovah God! Because if He didn’t bear that glorious emotion towards us in spades, He would never have offered up Jesus as a sacrifice for us.
So please stop thinking and saying that God doesn’t LOVE you, stop allowing the enemy to play mind games with you on that subject, for it is an enormous fallacy. God LOVES you more than anything else in all of His creation! I don’t know what else He could have done to prove that.
So this Christmas Monday morning let’s raise the roof of heaven with our powerful, harmonious and melodic rendition of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. With everything we’ve got now Friends!
‘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 Friends, that was a most fitting rendition for a Christmas week. Wow! The heavenly hosts were duly impressed and responded with a standing ‘O’ and a loud shout for an encore! (smile) By the way, that included Jesus and the Father too.
So we’ve begun this workweek on a good foot my people, please let’s keep it like that all day and all week. Let the adrenalin build up and the rising level of faith in the Holy Spirit make us amenable to His leading and guiding as we go about doing good today, just like Jesus did in His time.
That brings us to our Bit, another instance where God’s plans seemed very unjust, but through His higher level of knowledge and wisdom were actually meant for exceeding good. Listen to Bruh Joseph as he speaks to his evil brothers, who had sold him into slavery in Egypt.
‘And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought (intended) evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish (provide for) you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.’ (Gen 50:19-21)
Yes Friends, it was the very same intention God had, when, heart-broken, He put His plan for salvation and eternal life into place that first Christmas morning. His eventual goal was to also save much people alive
Only thing though, this was not a physical alive, like Bruh Joseph and his family, but a spiritual alive, to give all people a chance to come to Him in repentance for forgiveness, reconciliation and salvation.
This was to put a new vision in their hearts, whereby the Spirit of God would dwell in a believer’s body and guide and direct him or her into a fulfilling relationship with all members of our Godhead, the Holy Trinity – God the Father, God the Son, Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit.
So this Christmas my people, let us truly rejoice in the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Please consider the very hurtful and hurting emotions that the Father went through to come to such a momentous, life and universe changing decision, to send His only Son amongst us, to undergo terrible and uncalled for persecution, then die that horrendous death on the cross at Calvary…but all for our good.
Let’s remember that and then sincerely believe that our God, our Creator, truly LOVES us, otherwise He would have allowed us to languish forever in Hades with Lucifer, as we deserved, instead of providing a way out for us to spend eternity in heaven with Him.
Oh what a wonderful God we serve and worship my brethren! Please believe it, because it is gospel truth, and then act accordingly, with wisdom! Much LOVE!
…all I can say is…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…
17 Dec 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Advocate, aura of god, Christmas, commotion, contentment, emotions, friends, He was in the house, high priest, honour god, immortal truth, incarnate birth of Jesus christ, indisputable truth, jehovah god, Jesus, joy, leading lives that glorify god, light, never a secret, our Lord and Saviour, our redeemer, prayer, prince of peace, problems, radiance, reignite God's image in our hearts, rekindle God's fire in our souls, reverberation of god's Spirit, salvation, shine with god's light, thanks and praise, the Great First, the true light, touch us Jesus, traits, transfiguration of our souls, transfigure us, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, wonderful god
John 1:9. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
Oh Friends, another beautiful day called Wednesday has dawned! All thanks and praise be to Jehovah God, who in addition to the new day, also blesses us with an abundance of new mercies and LOVING-kindness! Praise His Holy Name!
That means we have to be grateful and show our appreciation by leading lives that please and glorify Him. That’s all He asks of us.
And truthfully, it’s not a whole lot, considering what our wonderful God has done for us, especially in giving us Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, our Redeemer, our ceremonial High Priest, our Advocate, our Prince of Peace, among the many other names he bears, and positions He holds.
Wow! I say it again Friends: what a wonderful God we serve and worship! There’s none like Him!
And all God’s people shouted out: ‘Oh Yes! There’s none like our great and wonderful God!’ Indisputable truth Friends!
And I just had to share this beautiful poem from the One Year Book of Bible Promises. When you read it, you’ll understand why. It’s called – You Cannot Be Hid.
‘Lord, I’ve discovered it’s never a secret When You live in a home For You simply cannot be hid. The neighbours soon know You are there Even strangers learn of You presence. When You are the Great First in a home There is a radiance that speaks of joy
There is gentleness, kindness Laughter and LOVE. There is commotion mixed with contentment There are problems mixed with prayer. Lord, Your own Word says it so vividly: “It was known that He was in the house.”
Oh Friends, what an immortal truth that is! If God truly lives in our homes, then there is no need to tell and/or spell it out to anyone, for the reverberation of His Spirit around the house speaks for itself. All the wonderful emotions and traits of our everlasting Deity positively manifest themselves.
And I’m asking us this morning, especially at this high season of Christmas, to let that wonderful, exciting, enthusiastic, encouraging and enlightening aura of God permeate and reverberate in our homes, as we celebrate the awesome incarnate birth of Jesus Christ!
We can’t pay Him a better honour than having Him shine brightly in our lives and our homes. What we badly need my people, is a rejuvenation of Jesus this Christmas season!
Now here is a little prayer I concocted with the help of some words from a devotional booklet on St. Therese, the patron saint of the Little Flower.
Please pray with me: ‘Blessed Jesus, we humbly ask this morning that You “Reignite Your image in our hearts, rekindle Your fire in our souls. Touch us Jesus, and transfigure us so that we shine with God’s light. Amen”
Yes my people, that’s exactly what we need in this current crazy, evil and angry world more than anything else; the transfiguration of our souls, so that we can shine brightly in God’s name!
That brings us to our most appropriate Bit, taken from John’s discourse on Jesus in the opening verses of his gospel. ‘That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.’ Yeh mih breddren, Jesus is, was, and will always be the true Light of the world!
And the scholars offer this brief explanation. ‘1:9. Lighteth every man means that God’s revelation is universally available. It does not signify universal salvation (cf. v.12; 3:18,36).’ Yes, salvation is there to be had by all, but you have to come and get it personally.
And Isaiah proclaimed Jesus’ light long before He came, when he spoke about Israel, the Lord’s servant. ‘And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end(s) of the earth.’ (Is.49:6)
And Jesus Himself declared it to us in the Sermon on the Mount. ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle (lamp), and put it under a bushel (basket), but on a candlestick (lamp stand); and it giveth life unto all that are in the house. So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify you Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.5:14-16)
Oh Friends, what a command from our Leader!
And here’s how the scholars characterize it: ‘5:14-16. Ye are the light of the world describes the essential mission of the Christian to the world. He is the condition (salt) to meet the world’s needs and he has a mission (light) to the world. His light is to clearly shine forth into the darkness of human depravity.
He is to set his light upon a candlestick, not hide it under a bushel, that is, a basket. Darkness is the absence of light; and darkness alone cannot dispel the light, but the smallest light can dispel the greatest darkness.’
Oh my brethren, I couldn’t have said it any better, so please let’s do our very best to live up to Jesus’ expectations nuh. We need to take our Leader’s bidding seriously and ply it in a world that’s engulfed by darkness.
And fittingly, we’ll close with one of the greatest pronouncements ever on the subject of light and darkness. ‘And God said, Let there be light; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.’ (Gen.1:3-4)
Yes Friends, the Light of Jesus is beautiful, so let’s allow it to shine in our lives and our homes! That’s heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…this then is the message which we have heard of him…and declare unto you…that God is light…and in him is no darkness at all… (1 John 1:5)
14 Dec 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a full and living experience, Advent, ascension, atone for our sins, behold the days come, bow to Jesus' eternal majesty, Calvary, Christ's Second Coming, Christmas, comes from the heart, confess that Jesus is Lord, death on the cross, direct access to god, ever-LOVING God, ever-loving Lord and Saviour, faithful, family of god, fellowship, fill God's sanctuaries, forgive iniquity, forgiveness of sin, gladness of heart, glory, God's covenant making with Israel, God's policies of administration, God's prophetic programme, grateful praise, heartwarming, herald a new era, holy and sinless life, I will make a new covenant with Israel, in a blaze of glory, intimacy with god, inward code for living, Israel, Jesus Christ, joy, live lives that are pleasing to god, LOVE, merciful, moral civil ceremonial regulations, name of Jesus, New Covenant, new week, obedient to God's will, Old Testament, praise, prayer, pre Christian era, promise of a new covenant, remember their sin no more, resurrection, sacrifice, selflessly sacrificing, Sinaitic covenant, Son-light of Jesus Christ, Sunday, Thank you Jesus, thanks, the Christ child, the day of the Lord, the Good Book, the Sabbath Day, to know Jesus is to love Him, unchangeable prinicples of God's law, universality of the knowledge of God, victorious living, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, with the house of Judah, worship, worthy of your love, written in the hearts of God's people
Jeremiah 31:31. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.
Oh Friends, it’s a new week! Yeh! And today, Sunday, is the first day in it. So let’s give our wonderful Creator and God big thanks of praise and glory for bringing us safely through the dark, demon-filled night into the bright, brilliant, bountiful and ever so beautiful Son-light of Jesus Christ, our most LOVING Lord and Saviour!
And on this auspicious day of the Lord, the Sabbath, let’s joyfully remember the reason for the seasons we’re celebrating; Advent, the eagerly awaited expectation of the Christ child; Christmas, the actual birth of the Christ child.
And all God’s people gave out with a heartwarming shout of grateful praise. ‘Thank You heavenly Father, for sending Jesus to sacrifice and atone for our sins. We’re not worthy of Your LOVE, but You still bless us with it because You are a merciful and ever-LOVING God.
We praise Your Holy Name, and will endeavour to live lives that are pleasing to You, and glorify You. This we pray in the name of Jesus, whose birth at Christmas gave us hope for a new future, heralded a new era in our lives, and whose death on the cross at Calvary, along with His resurrection and ascension brought Your promise of a new covenant to pass.
And we can’t end without saying a big, big thank You to Jesus for selflessly sacrificing His holy and sinless life for us. He didn’t have to do it. But He was obedient to Your will. Help us to be likewise obedient to Your dictates. Thank You Jesus! We bow to Your eternal majesty, and confess that You are indeed Lord of All! Amen.’
Ah mih people, that prayer might seem long and disjointed, but the important thing is that it came from the heart, as all prayers ought to, regardless of their length or correctness of language. (smile) And please don’t forget that today is the day for worship, praise and fellowship with both man and God.
Please let’s fill God’s sanctuaries with our bodies as well as with joy, thanks and gladness of heart, because our Bit is now in a sure mode of fulfillment. ‘Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.’
Yes Friends, that wonderful promise was set in motion through Christ’s birth and His selfless actions as a young man. We’re now awaiting its culmination through His Second Coming in blazing glory!
And today I want to share some important explanations of the scholars, re that covenant, because they are invaluable in helping us to understand it. I don’t know how much I’ll be able to get in, because it takes up almost an entire page of the Good Book.
But here goes: ’31:31-34. The new covenant is the culmination of God’s covenant-making with Israel. It may be viewed as a document of God’s prophetic programme and of His policies of administration.
As an administrative document, it renders obsolete and succeeds the old Sinaitic covenant that served as the manual of procedure for carrying out the moral, civil, and ceremonial regulations relative to national Israel in the pre-Christian era (cf. Deut.7:6-11; Heb.8:7-13).
Some features of the old covenant are carried over into the new covenant: (1) There is in the new covenant a stress on the importance of the unchangeable principles of God’s law.
However, these will now be written not on stone but in the hearts of God’s people – they will become part of their inward code for living, and will conform in all respects to the moral law of the Scriptures.
Accordingly, the ideal that the old covenant called for (cf. Deut. 6:6-7; 10:16; 30:6) in external commandments will be internalized under the terms of the new covenant.
(2) With the establishment of the covenant at Sinai, Israel had become nationally God’s people (Ex. 6:6-7; 19:5-6). As such, they were to be a faithful and obedient people, reflecting His standards in their lives (Deut. 14:1-2; 26:16-19).
In a far greater way, the intimacy of the believer with God makes the realization of God’s relation to His people under the terms of the new covenant to be a full and living experience. Moreover, not just the Israelites but all believers (those who know God, v.34) are now called under the new covenant my people. (See 2 Cor.6:16; Gal.3:6-9, 15-18, 26-29; Titus 2:14)
These features of vital inwardness and a universality of the knowledge of God stand out as the two great distinctive elements in the new covenant.
(3) A third feature that represents continuity with the old covenant, yet superiority under the new covenant is the matter of forgiveness. Although God is said to forgive their iniquity under the administration of the Sinaitic covenant (Ex.34:6-7; Num.14:18; Deut.5:9-10; cf. Ps.86:15; Joel 2:13), in the stipulations of the new covenant, God will remember their sin no more.
This feature is a reminder that men in Old Testament times were saved in anticipation of the finished work of Calvary. Under the old economy, believers approached God in their worship experience through human mediators (Ex.20:19); but with the completed redemption by Christ, the members of the family of God now have direct access to God (cf. 1 Tim.2:5-6; Titus 2:11-14, 3:5-7; Heb. 9:1-10:22).
Where full forgiveness has been granted, there is no more remembrance of sin. Positionally and experientially, with the living reality of both God’s law in the heart and the indwelling Christ (Col.1:20-27) in the believer, there is not only full and continuous forgiveness of sin (1 John 1:8-9), but full provision for faithful and victorious living.’
And we’ll stop there for today. I do hope that some of that explanation does improve our understanding of some of the differences between the old and new covenants. I apologize for some of the big words and terms the scholars use that might have you running to your dictionary. But that’s just the nature of the beast – scholars just use big words because they feel that shows their scholarship. (smile)
So basically Friends, the new covenant writes God’s law in our hearts, rather than on outward things like tablets of stone; allows us to go directly to God not through some other human mediator, and in addition to forgiving our sins, now throws them far behind God’s back, never to be remembered again.
As I keep saying, what a wonderful God we serve and worship! And whoever rejects Him is a total idiot. Much LOVE!
…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…
13 Dec 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a grateful heart, a pleasant personality, advocating on our behalf, as for me and mine, beauty, behold the days come, Bruh David, Christmas, covenant, Davidic covenant, debt, everlasting rule, father and child relationship, glory, glory hallelujah, God's LOVING-kindness, goodness, house of Judah, I will be pleased, I will make a new covenant with Israel, Israel, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus' miraculous birth, Jesus' Second Coming, joy, judgement, justice, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, magnanimous, messianic era, One Year Book of Bible promises, peace, peace floods my tranquil heart, praise me joyfully, Praise the Lord, promise, repayment, righteousness., saith the Lord, Saturday, sitting at the father's right hand, sleep in late, talk with me intimately, Thank you Jesus, thankful, the birth of Jesus Christ, the House of Judah, the hubbub of confusion, the Lord our righteousness, the righteous Branch of the Lord, those who delight to please God, triumph, trust me totally, walk in the light of God's presence, warm love that flows from Jesus, we shall follow Jesus, what a wonderful God we serve and worship
Jeremiah 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.
Well my brethren, it’s Saturday morning, and life is moving right along, exactly the way it was planned to unfold. Some of us can afford to sleep in late, while others unfortunately have to get up and do stuff, either at home or out in the community.
But please, whatever we do today, let’s do it with a grateful heart, a pleasant personality and a warm LOVE that flows from Jesus, because that’s what he expects of His followers, especially as we are celebrating the two thousand and fourteenth anniversary of His wonderful and miraculous birth, this Christmas season.
And all God’s children sang out: ‘Praise the Lord! Glory Hallelujah! Thank You my Lord and Saviour Jesus!’
Oh Friends, there’s so much we have to be thankful for, especially in Jesus, that we can’t even consider repaying the debt we owe, it’s of such great magnitude. But as I said recently, Jesus is not really interested in debt repayment since He knows we don’t have the wherewithal to do so.
He just wants us now to simply live lives that glorify Him and our heavenly Father, with the help of the Holy Spirit that indwells us. And this poem from the One Year Book of Bible Promises nicely points that out.
It’s titled – I Will Be Pleased. ‘Lord, this fresh early morning As I sit in our quiet living room You’ve just reminded me Through David the Psalmist That there is incomparable joy For those who delight to please You – For those who are thinking about ways To follow You more closely.
Lord, the day stretches out before me. In a few brief moments I must arouse my family And face again the noise, the distraction The hubbub of confusion. But while we are still alone Just the two of us, my Lord While your peace floods my tranquil heart Please tell me what I can do This duty-packed day To follow you more closely.’
And here’s the Lord’s reply ‘Dearly LOVED child Praise me joyfully Talk with me intimately Trust me totally And I will be pleased.’
Matter fixed my people! Yuh see, our God is just looking for a warm and LOVING father and child relationship; walking and talking with Him in complete trust and surrender. What more can we ask for eh? Not a whole lot nuh!
And the Bible Promise for that poem was: ‘Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord.’ (Ps.89:15, NIV)
And Friends, our God is so magnanimous that He even made us a big promise in our Bit, way back in olden times. ‘Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.’
And we all know the beginning of that covenant was fulfilled with the birth of Jesus Christ, but will not be completed until His Second Coming, this time in glory and triumph to begin His everlasting rule.
Oh what a wonderful God we serve and worship my people! I can’t help but point that out whenever I consider how good He’s been to us, though we are definitely unworthy of His LOVING-kindness.
Now listen to Jeremiah again, as he expands somewhat on our Bit, where it’s promised that a descendant of Bruh David will be king. ‘Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.
In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David, and he shall execute judgement (justice) and righteousness in the land (earth). In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness.’ (Jer.33:14-17)
Oh Friends, that promised king is our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! And He’s just biding His time, sitting at the Father’s right hand, advocating on our behalf, waiting patiently and eagerly until the Father decides the time is right for Him to launch the final sortie. (smile)
Now here is some important info from the scholars re the covenants. ’33:14-17. The provisions of the Davidic covenant remain in force as they are incorporated into the new covenant. The phrase the days come refers to the messianic era, when the righteous Branch of the Lord will grow up unto David.
Jeremiah looks forward to the time when the Messiah, Israel’s Shepherd and King will sit on the throne of David in fulfillment of the promises of the Davidic covenant. His reign will be a time of renewed peace, justice and righteousness. The Messiah’s title The Lord our Righteousness will also be given to Jerusalem because the Righteous One will be there.’
Oh Friends, how can we not grasp and hold on tightly to that marvellous promise eh, especially when we see its fulfillment being wonderfully orchestrated and embodied in the person of Jesus Christ? We’d be foolish not to!
And I know that many do not accept, in fact angrily reject Jesus and all that He stands for. But all I can say to them is wake up and smell, see and taste the beauty and goodness and LOVE that’s Jesus!
To think or believe otherwise is simply the wisdom of a fool! Let’s sincerely hope that we don’t ever fall into that foolish category. Much LOVE!
…the world can say what it wants…but as for me and mine…hn…we will follow Jesus right through to eternity…
28 Nov 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: anguish, ask God's divine guidance, bargains, bargainse, Black Friday, business people, cannot be bought with money, common sense, crown of life, Cyber Monday, desire, discomfort, drawn away by his own lust, drive, encouragement, enthusiasm, enticed, enticing, eternal life, every gift comes from above, every man is tempted, evil, fellowship, firstfruits, fleshly lust, forgiveness, fraudulent, Friday chant, fun, gift, glorious kingdom, God is good, God is immutable, God tries the saints, God's promise, god's redemption of man, gospel truth, grace, greed, greedy, hold our heads and bawl, James, Jesus Christ, joy, LOVE, loving kindness, lust brings forth sin, mark of a true believer, material things, mercy, mistakes, patience, peace, price we have to pay, promise, psychological ploys, Red Thursday, redemption, relaxation, resentment, sales, salvation, shopping blitz, shopping day, sin, sin brings forth death, spooked deer, take it to God in prayer, temptation, tempted of god, tempted with evil, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the Father of lights, U.S Thanksgiving, ungodly attitudes and actions, variation, waith for hours, warning, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, wisdom, wise decisions, worldwide trend
James 1:14. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust (desire), and enticed.
And at last it was Friday…! And all the people joyfully shouted: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday; Black Friday!’
‘But wait nuh mih breddren, what Friday is this eh, Black Friday?’ you ask with a confused frown. ‘But it’s not the 13th…’
‘Oh no, not the old mythical Friday the 13th, but the new Black Friday; the excessive shopping day after the U.S Thanksgiving celebrations.’
‘Ah Lord eh!’ you shake your head in disbelief.
Yes my people, it’s another day of supposed sales and bargains that only breeds greed, anguish, resentment and all sorts of ungodly attitudes and actions, where we line up in the cold and dark, hours before stores open, then rush like spooked deer through the doors to buy stuff that we don’t really need, and very often cannot afford.
But the evil and greedy business people have found, or rather created, another day to lure us into their businesses to spend money we don’t have. And now, unfortunately, it’s a trend that’s going worldwide. In Canada businesses are doing their own thing too to try and stop the enormous amount of cross border shopping.
One business even had something it called ‘Red Thursday.’ Steups! And next Monday is now being called cyber Monday, where on-line shopping is the name of the game. And then they will put on the Christmas blitz. We are being constantly bombarded with advertising for all sorts of bargains, which are usually fraudulent.
Oh Friends, why don’t we rush down to God’s house like that eh, where everything is free? And instead of giving away, wasting our hard earned or non-existent money on physical stuff that rots and is easily destroyed, we receive LOVE, joy, peace, mercy, grace, forgiveness, salvation and eternal life; things that cannot be bought with money!
And sadly, even if they advertised church services like they do these supposed sales, very few of us would show up, and even fewer would have the enthusiasm, drive and patience to wait for hours in discomfort until the doors opened.
But we can only try to avoid people falling prisoner to the lure of sales and cheap bargains. And one of the tools we use is our Friday Chant. So let’s chant it nuh, with the same enthusiasm and energy we have for the sales we’ll head out to later in the day. (smile)
As one voice 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.’
Ah mih people, I can only hope and pray that we use a little common sense and wisdom and don’t get in foolishly over our heads in whatever we do today. No doubt many of us will hold our heads and bawl when we realize the mistakes we’ve made. But that’s the price we have to pay when we don’t think before we act, neither do we take everything to God in prayer and wisely ask for His divine guidance and help.
That brings us to these most appropriate words of James. ‘Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried (have been proved), he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that LOVE him.
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.’ (James 1:12-13)
And all of that is gospel truth Friends, as are the words of our Bit which follows them. ‘But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust (desire), and enticed.’
And that is exactly what’s happening to us with these sales! The business people are pandering to our natural fleshly lust for material things, and through psychological ploys are enticing us to come and buy what we don’t need or can afford.
And as James continues: ‘Then when lust (desire) hath conceived, it bringeth forth (gives birth to) sin: and sin, when it is finished (full grown), bringeth forth death.’ (James 1:15) Indisputable truth my brethren!
And James ends with a solemn warning, as well as words of consolation and encouragement. ‘Do not err (be deceived) my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness (variation), neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firtsfruits of his creatures.’ (James 1:16-18)
And the scholars offer these words of explanation: ‘1:17. Three great principles are presented: (1) God is the Father, or Creator, of the heavenly bodies. (2) As their Creator, He is certainly more stable than they. With God there is not even the slightest change; He is immutable. (3) God is only good – and always good.
This third principle relates verse 17 to the preceding context. It answers the implication of verse 13 that God may sometimes tempt man to evil. Though God tries the saints (John 6:6; Heb.11:17), He never tries with evil intent so as to tempt them.’
‘1:18. All the redeemed are God’s firstfruits in that they are the first step in God’s redemption of all creation (Rom.8:18-23).’
So Friends. Let’s go out this Black Friday morning filled with the Spirit of God that will lead us to make wise decisions, even in the midst of plenty psychological bombardment and enticement. That’s the mark of a true believer! Much LOVE!
…though God doesn’t tempt us…He does allow us to undergo trials to test our mettle…but in His LOVING-kindness, He also helps us to handle them…O what a wonderful God we serve and worship…
05 Nov 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a man lay down his life for his friends, addendum, all praise and thanks be to god, all praise to the lamb that was slain for us, as sheep going astray, awesome, awesome help of Jesus, bare our sins in his own body, Bishop of our souls, by whose stripes we are healed, Christ's death was vicarious, Dear Jesus, death, eternal separation, everlasting life, footsteps of Jesus, for God so loved the world, glory hallelujah, God demonstrates His love towards us, God gave His only begotten son, God reconciled us to Himself, God's still on the throne, God's working out our plans for good, Gramps Schuller, greater love hath no man, halfway through the workweek, holiness, Hour of Power Devotional, I can feel my heart opening like a heavy door, I can hear old chains break, justice, keep the pedal to the metal, learn to know God, lesser of two evils, LOVE, no complaints from the penny section, obedience, our God is something else, our God is truly awesome, our omnipotent and merciful God, put that on your plate, put your money where your mouth is, reconciliation, righteousness., sacrfice, sacrifice, sacrifice of His Son Jesus, spiritual and emotional walls, substitutionary sacrifice, the footsteps of Jesus, unconditional LOVE, undying LOVE, walking into my life, Wednesday, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, while we were yet sinners christ died for us, who ever believes in Jesus will not perish, wisdom, Yahweh
Romans 5:8. But God commendeth (demonstrates) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Well well mih breddren, it’s Wednesday…! We’re halfway home in our workweek race…and we’re winning too! So please don’t let up, keep the pedal to the metal (smile) and just keep on doing whatever has been working for you so far.
Our omnipotent and merciful God is still on the throne, still in control, and He has the lives of all His children in good standing, calmly and blessedly working out His glorious plan for their good.
And all God’s children boldly and gratefully declared: ‘All praise and thanks be to the Lord our God, who in His great unconditional LOVE reconciled us to Himself, through the sacrifice of His son Jesus, while we were yet sinners!’
Oh what a truly wonderful and glorious God we serve and worship, my people!
And if by sad chance, you don’t happen to know that awesome Deity, or don’t know Him well enough, then here’s a li’l something from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional to help you ‘Learn to Know God.’
Please acclaim with me: ‘Dear Jesus, I’ve got to get to know you better. Please help me! I can feel my spiritual and emotional walls crack. I can hear old chains break. I can feel my heart opening like a heavy door whose ancient seals have just begun to break.
I can sense the footsteps of Jesus walking into my life. I am beginning to experience the joy of a soul that is being saved, a life that is being born again. Thank You, Lord! Life’s not fair, but God is good. Amen.’
And if you said that prayer sincerely, then you will indeed feel all those old walls and encumbrances breaking down, falling apart, as Jesus fully enters your life. Wow Friends, our God is truly awesome, truly something else yes!
And Bruh Paul points it out so clearly in our Bit: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrates) his (own) LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’
And all God’s children declared a loud and thankful: ‘Glory Hallelujah! All thanks and praise be to the Lamb who was slain for us!’ Yes my people, we can never repay, or thank Jesus enough for dying in our place.
As the scholars explain it: ‘5:8. Christ died for us: His death was vicarious. That is, He did not die merely for our benefit but in our place. His was a substitutionary sacrifice.’
That means we don’t have to die again for our sins; Jesus’ death paid for everything! Glory Be! And that’s why I can’t understand why so many people today are running away from Jesus instead of running towards Him.
But yuh know what my brethren, it all stemmed from the Father’s great LOVE for us! He didn’t have to send Jesus to the cross on our behalf nuh, He could just have left us to wallow in our abominable sins and end up in death and eternal separation from Him.
But His undying LOVE for us, His greatest creation, was so strong, it outweighed the grief, losing us would have caused Him. So in His vast, unending wisdom, He devised a plan to give us access to His holiness, righteousness and justice. Now, offering His One Son as a sacrifice hurt Him too, but He considered it the lesser of two evils.
As Jesus so boldly proclaims in a scripture we all know: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16)
Oh Friends, I can’t think of a greater sacrifice than that; a Father giving up His only Son for a bunch of obnoxious, sinful ingrates!
But then again, as Jesus so poignantly declares: ‘Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’ (John 15:13) Then He went out and died for us to prove it.
Friends, Jesus put His money where His mouth was, are we doing the same? I certainly hope so, because there’s a very important addendum to that statement He made above there. ‘Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.’ (John 15:14)
Yes my fellow believers, we can only be His true friends if we are obedient to His commands! If we are disobedient to His dictates, then we are not His friends. And that’s quite logical. It doesn’t make sense my dying for you, if you won’t live for me.
Now here’s an interesting bit of scripture on the subject from Peter, with which we’ll close today’s proceedings. Peter talks somewhat graphically about Christ’s suffering.
‘Who in his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes (wounds) ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the shepherd and Bishop (Overseer) of your souls.’ (1 Pet.2:24-25)
Oh my people, please, let’s put that on our plate to ponder on today nuh. Let that image of Christ on the cross be in our mind’s eye today, as we journey through life in this sinful and ungodly world, being His friend, doing as He commands, remembering that it was by His ‘sufferation’ that we were made whole, and given a once in a lifetime chance to return to the safe and LOVING fold of our great God and Creator: Yahweh! Much LOVE!
…friends stand by each other…so let’s stand by Jesus…as He stood by us two thousand years ago…and still stands by us everyday…
P.S. Oh Friends, it’s so short and sweet today! Glory be! So no complaints from the penny section. (smile) Much LOVE!
P.S.S. Would you believe that as soon as I was ready to send out the Bit, the ole computer froze on me. Chuh! It sure is trying to drive me crazy! But with the awesome help of Jesus, I won’t allow it to do so. (smile) Much LOVE!
06 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all the days of my appointed time, conviction, Creator, deliver their soul from death, depths of despair, dilemma, faith, fear, Footprints, footprints in the sand, friends, God's promise, gracious help, heart-broken, holy spirit, I carreid you, I will never leave you, if a man die, interesting poem, Job, lamenting, last scene of my life, left to our own devices, live a righteous life, LOVE, Magaret Fishback Powers, mind games, naked and forlorn, need, never leave or forsake us, on the alert, peace and joy, promise, Psalm 33, questioned the Lord, reverence, seeking God's kingdom, serious setbacks, shall he live again, sorrow, stand strong and steadfast, testings, Thank You Lord, the enemy trying to deceive us, the God of his fathers, the Good Book, the Lord is good to those who wait on him, the Lord is my portion, the salvation of the Lord, the Son of man, trials, tribulations, Triune God, troublesome times of my life, true believers, trust, unprotected, wait on the Lord, walk and talk with me, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, when I needed you most, when Jesus comes again, will I wait till my change has come, wisdom
Job 14:14. If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time (hard service) will I wait, till my change come.
Oh Friends, on this glorious though rainy Saturday morning, after one of the few truly hot and humid summer days yesterday, (smile) I want to share an interesting poem with you. I don’t know if I have ever shared it before, but even if I did, it must have been long ago, and it’s certainly worthy of sharing again.
It’s titled FOOTPRINTS by Margaret Fishback Powers. The first time I saw it was in a condensed form on a pamphlet, a tract issued by some Christian organization, and they claimed the author to be anonymous.
Then later on, I don’t remember how, I came into possession of a book called ‘Footprints: Scripture with Reflections Inspired by the Best-LOVED Poem’ put together by Ms. Powers. And since then, every day I read a few of the scriptures she has compiled, with suitable commentaries on them.
Now here is the poem. ‘Footprints: One night I dreamed a dream. I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to me and one to my Lord.
When the last scene of my life shot before me I looked back at the footprints in the sand. There was only one set of footprints. I realized that this was at the lowest and saddest times of my life. This always bothered me and I questioned the Lord about my dilemma.
“Lord, you told me when I decided to follow You, You would walk and talk with me all the way. But I’m aware that during the most troublesome times of my life there is only one set of footprints. I just don’t understand why, when I needed You most, You leave me.”
He whispered, “My precious child, I LOVE you and will never leave you, never ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints it was then that I carried you.’
Ah mih people, how many of us have had some such experience eh? Countless numbers! Because every day some situation arises where we feel completely naked and forlorn, unprotected, left alone to our own insignificant and insufficient devices. But don’t believe that lie Friends, for it’s only the enemy trying to deceive us into thinking that way.
Our wonderful God has promised NEVER TO LEAVE OR FORSAKE US, AND He is EVER-FAITHFUL! So why in the time of our deepest sorrow and need, will He not be with us eh? Lucifer is just trying to play mind games with us.
Please, ALWAYS remember that the Holy Spirit of our Triune God dwells within us, and thus is ALWAYS with us! There is no need to search the sand for His footprints, for whenever we are down and out, out of our depth, then He picks us up and carries us to safety.
Oh what a wonderful God we serve and worship my fellow believers! I don’t know how many times in a day that sentiment is brought home to me by one incident or another.
And believe you me, there’s been many a time that I have been forced to utter a humble, ‘Thank You Lord for carrying me today! Without your precious and gracious help, I couldn’t have made it through those rough spots I encountered today.’
Yeh mih people, it’s certainly not easy to live a righteous life on this ungodly earth. But if we sincerely place our trust and faith in our Creator, He will enable us to do it. That’s His promise, and He’s NEVER yet broken one!
Our faith though needs to be strong. Just look at Job, who suffered such serious setbacks for no apparent reason at all. And though he wasn’t a happy camper, and longed for death, he still did not lose that strong trust and conviction in the God of his fathers, as he recounts in our Bit.
‘If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time (hard service) will I wait, till my change come.’
That should also be our attitude my Friends. And you’ll notice in the Good Book that many of the great names mentioned there had great trials and tribulations, but they stood strong and steadfast and waited for the Lord to deliver them. Listen here, as the psalmist praises the Lord for His creation in Psalm 33.
‘Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear (reverence) him, upon them that hope in his mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.’ (Ps.33:18-22)
Yeh Friends, our souls find such peace and joy when we rest in and wait on the Lord!
Now hear Jeremiah. Though he’s suffering and heart-broken, in lamenting his situation, he still has the faith and wisdom to acknowledge: ‘The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.’ (Lam.3:24-26)
Oh my brethren, when we are in the depths of despair, are we comforted by thoughts such as those? We ought to be, if we are true believers.
Now let’s end with some special advice form Jesus Himself, when He taught that man’s first priority should be the seeking of God’s kingdom. ‘Let your loins (waist) be girded about, and your lights (lamps) burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.
Blessed are those servants , whom the lord (master) when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them sit down to meat (eat), and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.’ (Luke 12:35-38)
Yes Friends, Jesus warns that we must constantly be on the alert, waiting expectantly for whenever He comes. Are we ready, are we alert?
What if He comes today, right now, will He find us waiting, ready and able? For all our sakes, I surely hope so, for that will mean that we’re indeed true believers! Much LOVE!
…be ye therefore ready also…for the Son of man…cometh at an hour…when ye think not… (Luke 12:40)
13 Jul 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fool despises instruction, a God of mercy, authority, comfort, compassion, counsel, Cousin Sol, cross at Calvary, deliver his soul from hell, despise, dictates of God, disdains instruction, disobedience, disobedient children, disobedient parents, disobey, emotional, encouraging, eternal life, exhorting, faith, faithfulness, fellowship of spirit, forgiveness, give thanks for god's goodness, glory hallelujah, hear counsel, heavenly Father, hogwash, holy relationship, instruction, latter days, laud, LOVE, loving kindness, magnify, mental, mercy, mortal standards, my heart shall rejoice, obeying the Word of God, penalties, physical punishment, pomp, poverty, praise God's holy name, precedence, price to pay, proper balance, Proverbs, prudent, punish, rearing children, receive instruction, reconciled, rejoice, reproof, sacrificed his only son Jesus, salvation, sanctuary, self-control, sensible, shame, sinners, speak right things, splendour, take for granted, the breath of life, the Lord's Day, the right way, the wrong way, thine heart be wise, undeserving children of men, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, words of knowledge, worship God, wrath
Proverbs 15:5. A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth (keeps, accepts) reproof is prudent (sensible).
Oh mih Friends, one more day has just been added to our illustrious lives! Glory Hallelujah! What a wonderful God we serve and worship! A God of mercy, of LOVING-kindness, of forgiveness, of compassion, of comfort, and above all, of LOVE!
Wow! How could we not LOVE Him in return and bless and praise His Holy name and thank Him for the myriad of blessings He showers down on us each and every day eh, even if we don’t deserve them?
And all God’s people declared a loud and thankful: ‘All praise and glory be to God the Father, who in His never-ending stream of LOVING-kindness, sacrificed his only Son Jesus Christ on the rugged cross at Calvary so that we abominable sinners could be reconciled to Him, brought back into a holy and glorious relationship with Him, featuring salvation and eternal life!’
Yes my people, it is of the utmost importance that EVERYDAY we recognize and appreciate and give thanks for God’s goodness to us, the undeserving children of sinful men! A lot of us just take it for granted. But that is oh so wrong my brethren.
Remember too, that one of the reasons God created us from the dust of the earth, then blew the breath of life into our nostrils is so that we could laud and magnify Him, worship Him in all faithfulness, with pomp and splendour!
And since today is Sunday, the day that most of us recognize as the Lord’s Day – no divisive arguments over that now – it’s only fitting that we should gather at His sanctuary and fellowship with other believers, exhorting and encouraging each other in our faith, while giving the Lord the thanks and praise He so richly deserves!
And having said all of that, let’s turn to our Bit which encapsulates it all. ‘A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth (keeps, accepts) reproof is prudent (sensible)’
And since those words are truth-bearing my brethren, it means that the majority of us on this planet earth are fools, because we very much despise and disobey our heavenly Father’s instructions, laid out for us in His Word. There’s no getting around that, if our Bit is true. And it certainly is, even by our mortal standards, as we saw from the several Proverbs we quoted yesterday, and will see from some more that we’ll quote today.
Yes Friends, we consider disobeying our earthly parents to be unwise, but hypocritically, we set up a different standard for our disobeying God. But disobedience is disobedience: in reality it’s the same; not abiding by the rules and regulations of a higher authority.
And Cousin Sol in his Proverbs, so wisely warns us that: ‘Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth (disdains, ignores) instruction: but he that regardeth (accepts) reproof shall be honoured.’ (Prov.13:18) And that my people goes for both the children of earthly men, and the children of our heavenly God!
When our children disobey us, we punish them; likewise, when we disobey God, we shouldn’t be surprised if He punishes us, because He states it quite clearly in His word. And if you don’t believe me, then just read Leviticus 26, where blessings for obedience are listed from verses 3-13, but penalties for disobedience run from verses 14-46. What does that intimate eh Friends? That there’s a very heavy price to pay for disobedience!
And in that vein, Cousin Sol tells us:’ A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again. Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end (days).’ (Prov.19:19-20)
And we come back to why there are so many disobedient children; because there are too many disobedient parents. Parents who are not rearing their children in the dictates of God, with a proper balance of LOVE and discipline! Oh my people, if we don’t teach them, the right way, someone else will teach them the wrong one, as is happening so much nowadays.
Hear these wise words from Cousin Sol. ‘Apply thine heart unto instruction; and thine ears to the words of knowledge. Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. My son, if thine heart be wise, my (own) heart shall rejoice, even mine. Yes, my reins (my innermost being) shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.’ (Prov.23:12-16)
Now Friends, that doesn’t mean we have to beat our children senseless or abuse them, but by the same token if we don’t apply some measure of physical correction they’ll just turn out as they are today; spoiled rotten, undisciplined, ungrateful, believing that the world owes them a living, and all because the goody two shoes folks in their false wisdom declared that physical punishment tends to child abuse.
Hogwash! Most of us who received some sort of physical punishment for disobedience have turned out pretty good. Like everything else, if it’s overdone, it’s bad; just like mental and emotional punishment, or no punishment at all, can be abusive.
The only way our innermost beings can rejoice over our children’s behaviour, my brethren, is if we teach them discipline in the proper manner – just like God is trying to teach us, so that His heart can rejoice. (smile)
Anyway Friends, enough for today, let’s ponder all that we’ve read and heard, but in the end, let’s ensure that we are all following the Word of God, which is the only true wisdom that exists. Much LOVE!
…our world will only improve when discipline and self-control…based on God’s Word…take precedence over all else…
25 Apr 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a journey of hope and love, a saved world, accepting the challenge with a strong faith, advocating, all knees shall bow, all lips declare, almighty god, ascension, Beelzebub, bequeath our children, blessings, cast off forever, compassion, downward spiral, evil, evil powers, examine our ways, exhorting, expectant faith, eyes of faith, faith, fellow believers, forefront of our society, friends, gift, glory, God does not delight in afflicting His people, God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, grateful, grief, heavenly wisdom, honour, hope, hungry hope, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, just and righteous Deity, justified, Lamentations, legacy, lift up our hearts, LOVE, loving kindness, magnanimous Creator, magnificent and magnanimous God, materially, mercies, mire, new day, new every morning, omnipotent god, one true God, only son, pangs of misery, prosper, punishment for sins, put into action, quicksand, raise up the name of jesus, reignite God's image in our hearts, rekindle God's fire in our souls, resurrection, righteous, sacrificial death, Saint of the Little Flower, selfless, sentiments, sinful nature, sinful people, slaves, Son Jesus, spiritually, St. Therese, stooges, sucking away our lifeblood, take us to task, thankful, thanks and praise, the way to salvation, triumphant victory over death and the grave, turn again to God, uncoditional love, ungodly, walk in the steadfastness of god's grace and love, walk of faith, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, wisdom
Lamentations 3:32. But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, glory be! Yes, it’s another new day in paradise! Another marvellous and wondrous gift from our magnanimous Creator!
Oh my people, it just stirs me up so much when I consider the wonderful God we serve and worship!
Wow! Which other supposed deity gives His people new mercies and blessings every single morning eh? Who shows such undeserved compassion each and every day eh? NONE but our omnipotent God, my brethren!
That’s why we ought to give Him enormous thanks and continually praise His Holy Name. Remember, He doesn’t have to do what He’s done and doing for us, neither do our puny efforts deserve His LOVING-kindness. But it’s His unsurpassed unconditional LOVE that causes Him to bless us so richly, in spite of our sinful nature and behaviour.
And please remember too, that while we were yet stooges and slaves of Beelzebub, He sent His ONLY Son Jesus to die for us, so that we could be made justified, righteous, and all the other wonderful things that Jesus’ selfless, sacrificial death, resurrection and ascension accomplished.
So there are indeed numerous reasons for us to be thankful and grateful! Therefore, instead of trying to belittle Jesus’ importance, or take God out of our society, as we are allowing the evil powers that be to do, we ought to be jumping and shouting, beseeching and pleading, picketing and protesting, advocating and exhorting, to raise up the name of Jesus, just like the Father did after His triumphant victory over death and the grave!
We ought to be encouraging ALL knees to bow, and ALL lips to solemnly and sincerely declare that Jesus is indeed the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
Oh Friends, we ought to be filled with such a hungry hope and expectant faith, that we can clearly see, totally envision through our eyes of faith, a saved world; a world where Almighty God and Jesus Christ are once again at the forefront of our society!
Oh my people, my fellow believers, that’s the ONLY WAY our society will once again prosper, both spiritually and materially. If we don’t feel that way, don’t envision it happening, then we’ll just continue the downward spiral in which we’re now totally engaged.
Oh my brethren, the quicksand in the evil and ungodly mire of the world is slowly sucking away our lifeblood, unfortunately causing us to drift further and further away from the ONE TRUE GOD, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and if we don’t soon put a stop to it, then our children, and their children too, will be the ones to suffer the real pangs of misery and defeat, since we’ll already be dead and gone.
Now is that the legacy we want to bequeath to our children, whom most of us LOVE like the Lord LOVES us? I sincerely doubt it.
However Friends, it’s also necessary to remember that though we are currently a very sinful people, and that sometimes the Lord will take us to task for our sins, He will not cast us off forever. (Lam.3:31)
And all God’s people loudly declared: ‘All glory, praise, thanks and honour be to our magnificent and magnanimous God!’
Yes Friends, those are indeed wonderful sentiments, but we need to not only mouth them, but even more importantly put them into action!
And as our Bit so wisely and rightly states: ‘But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.’
Ah mih breddren, it gives our God no joy, no pleasure to punish us, but as a just and righteous Deity, He has to keep things right. Now listen to the words of Jeremiah, as he laments the state of his people Israel, which very much approximates to our current state.
‘For he doth not afflict willingly (with delight), nor grieve the children of men. To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth. To turn aside the right of (justice due) a man before the face of the most High. To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not.
Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil (woe) and good (well being)? Wherefore doth (how then can) a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
Let us search and try (examine) our ways, and turn again to the Lord. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.’ (Lam.3:33-41)
Oh Friends and fellow believers, that bit of scripture both highlights our current situation, and also points the way to our salvation!
Please, let’s accept the challenge with a strong faith, and ask God to ‘reignite His image in our hearts, and rekindle His fire in our souls,’ so that we can turn this evil and ungodly world around, and once again walk in the steadfastness of His abounding grace and undying LOVE!
Now that my people, is truly heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
’…the walk of faith is ultimately…a journey of HOPE and LOVE…’
P.S. Those words in inverted commas above, have been taken from a devotional booklet on healing, based on the writings and actions of St. Therese, the Saint of the Little Flower.
Please, please, my people, let’s use them to truly reignite the flame and fire of God’s LOVE within us nuh, and thus bring some much needed change to our badly drifting and listing world! Much LOVE!
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