21 Sep 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a sincere disposition, above all these things put on charity, according to the flesh, all the days of the life of thy vanity, all the days of thy vanity, another week of work for Jesus, as unto the Lord and not unto men, be ye thankful, begin a new week of work, bread to the wise, Christian slaves serve Christ not their earthly masters, Christians, constantly bombarded by the enemy's evil schemes, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, do it heartily, do it with thy might, drink thy wine with a merry heart, eat thy bread with joy, empty life, faith, favour to the men of skill, fearing God, fill us with steadfast faith, furthering your glorious kingdom, give our best effort in everything, given thee under the sun, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him, go out to meet the enemy in battle, go thy way, God now accepteth thy works, granted our wish, he that doeth wrong, holy spirit, humble servants, I returned and saw under the sun, imagine that we're working directly for God, in all wisdom, in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, in sincerity, in singleness of heart, incredible aura of LOVE, indisputable truth, into the enemy's camp, into the evil and ungodly world, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, jobs that serve a useful purpose, keep our promise, keeping lives and families together, knowing that of the Lord, length of life is not guaranteed, let the peace of God rule in your hearts, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, let thy garments always be white, let thy head lack no ointment, live a joyful and fulfilling life, live joyfully, live with a joyful attitude, LOVE, make worthwhile inroads, man knoweth not his time, man's ability cannot guarantee results, mercy, not with eyeservice as men pleasers, obey in all things your masters, over the weekend, receive the reward of the inheritance, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality and enthusiasm, riches to the men of understanding, sally forth with confidence, salvation, servants, serving the Lord, shall receive for the wrong that he hath done, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord, snared in an evil time, sure conquerors, surrender our all to you, teaching and admonishing one another, the battle to the strong, the beneficial influence of the indwelling word of Christ, the BIBLE, the birds caught in a snare, the bond of perfectness, the equalizing effect of time and chance, the fishes are taken in an evil net, the grim reaper, the labour which thou takest under the sun, the race is not to the swift, the sons of men, the wife whom thou lovest, there is no respect of persons, there is no work device knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, thy portion in life, time and chance happens to the all, to affect pubic and private worship, to control all areas of a Christian life, to lead and guide all your servants, to the which also ye are called in one body, truth, turn ordinary duties into acts of worship, we're not afraid, we're not guaranteed anything, wearing your powerful protective spiritual armour, whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, whatsoever ye do, whatsoever ye do in word or deed, wisdom, work hard, work wholeheartedly, wrought in our weary souls, ye serve the Lord Christ
Today’s Scrip-Bit 21 September 2026 Colossians 3:17.
Colossians 3:17. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
And here we are on another sunshiny, though somewhat cool and windy Monday, beginning another week of work all for Jesus! Yes, let’s remember that whatever we do, it’s supposed to be for Him, and we do it the way He desires, not the way we want. As Bruh Paul says in Colossians as he talks about putting on the new man. ‘And above all these things put on charity (LOVE), which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.’ (Col. 3:17) And the scholars explain that last verse by saying: ‘The beneficial influence produced by the indwelling word of Christ is not only to affect public and private worship (vs. 16), but it is also to control all areas of a Christian life.’
Then, later in that same chapter, Bruh Paul addressing servants, admonishes them thus. ‘Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh: not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart (sincerity), fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.’ (Col. 3:22-25)
Yes friends, even slaves were expected to work hard with a sincere disposition, wholeheartedly, not only when the master was watching, but always, because he was working not so much for his earthly master (unto men), but for his heavenly Master (to the Lord). And if they did that, then they would receive the reward of the inheritance, namely salvation. Then the scholars tell us: ‘The fact that Christian slaves will receive salvation from the Lord rather than from men verifies the assertion in verse 23 that they serve Christ, not their masters.’
Those scriptures therefore tell us that as believers, we must give our best effort in all that we do, be it a big or small task, a very important or not so important one. We must imagine that we’re working directly for God. And I like how this explanation puts it: ‘Turn ordinary chores or job duties into an act of worship.’ And we know that’s not always easy to do, especially with some of the work we do, and some of the supervisors we have, but it’s a good way to look at our daily tasks, and certainly to our benefit. (smile)
And all of that ties in nicely with this passage from Cousin Sol, writing as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes, as he advises us to Live Joyfully. ‘Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. Let thy garments always be white; and let thy head lack no ointment (oil). Live joyfully (enjoy life) with the wife whom thou LOVEST all the days of the life of thy vanity (thy empty life), which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that this is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest (perform) under the sun.
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happenenth to them all. For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes are taken in an evil (cruel) net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.’ (Eccl. 9:7-12)
Now, that’s wonderful advice my brethren, for none of us knows when the grim reaper will come for us, but until then, we owe it to ourselves, especially as Christians, to live a joyful and fulfilling life as possible while serving the Lord, because that’s our portion in this life, and there is no working in the grave. And per verses 11-12, the scholars explain. ‘Five statements of unexpected results are followed by an explanation. Man’s ability cannot guarantee the results (vs.11) because of the equalizing effects of time and chance.’
That’s the indisputable truth. No matter how good we are at whatever we do, we’re not guaranteed anything. That’s why we need to live with a joyful attitude, and do whatever we do well, as to the Lord. And to help us do that, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise and thank You this Monday morning for our jobs; jobs we sometimes don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose; 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 weekend. It’s that rejuvenation of spirit which now allows us to sally forth with confidence into the evil and ungodly world, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s evil schemes. 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 allow Your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit to 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, thereby furthering Your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! Amen!
And now, having been granted our wish, let’s go out and faithfully keep our promise! Much LOVE!
…length of life is not guaranteed…but it can be joyful…if lived for Christ…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
20 Apr 2026
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a dislike of Monday, a job I dislike, a merciful forgiving and gracious God, a quandary, a rat race, a sensible option, a warm comfortable bed, all sinned and disobeyed your word, always be the best we can be, become more miserable and disgruntled, Christian behaviour, christianity, Christians, divine aid, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, do it as of the ability which God gives, do it with thy might, done with diligence and excellence, ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, employees becoming less interested and efficient, faith, faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers, find ourselves in a quanday, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him, God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, good jobs are few and far between, good stewards of the manifold grace of God, grin and bear it, have your cake and eat it, he that does wrong, holy spirit, humble ourselves, humble servants, if any man minister, if any man speak, in sincerity of heart, in singleness of heart, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, jobs are much hared to come by these days, keep your promise to prosper us, knowing that of the Lord, lessen the irritation and pain, little loyalty on either side, looking out for their own benefit, LOVE, mercy, monetary compensation, nasty weather, no respect of persons, not as easy as it sounds, not unto men, not with eyeservice as men pleasers, obey in all things your masters, our attitude is always right when we work for God, practical advice, pray, putting on the new man, receive for the wrong he has done, receive the reward of the inheritance, rush hour traffic, salvation, see very little future in my job, servants, show them your awesome grace and mercy, shut up, sincere repentance in our hearts, sincerely seek God's face, speak as the oracles of God, thank you for life and strong faith in Christ, the BIBLE, the God who heals, the mass confusion in our world, the only way to handle uncomfortable situations, the power to solve our many problems, there's no work device knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, to live for Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever, truth, trying to squeeze every last penny, turn from our evil ways, up the ante, whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, whatsoever ye do do all to the glory of God, whatsoever ye do do it heartily as unto the Lord, whatsoever ye do in word or deed, whether therefore ye eat or drink, wisdom, wise guidance, working directly for God and not men, ye serve the Lord Christ
1 Corinthians 10:31. ‘Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.’
Monday, Monday, how I dislike that day! Why? Because it causes me to get up in the early hours of the morning from a warm, comfortable bed and make my way through the rush hour traffic in all kinds of nasty weather, to a job I dislike, and in which I see very little future. Well then, find another job that you like, one you can see a future in.
Yes, that’s a sensible option, but it’s not as easy as it sounds, with jobs much harder to come by these days, even with a decent education and experience. Then there’s the problem of the salary, the monetary compensation for doing the job. Not all of them pay well, and this one pays better than most. So then just shut up and grin and bear it! (smile)
You want to have your cake and eat it, but very few of us are able to do that in this life. And, unfortunately, that’s a quandary that many of us find ourselves in these days; we don’t like our jobs, but it’s hard to get up and look for one we like, and good ones are few and far between, then that might not pay as well as our current job. So we just stick with what we have, and become more miserable and disgruntled every day. And that’s the story of many people in our work force today. Not only unbelievers, but believers too.
And sadly, the work scene is becoming more and more of a rat race every day. There’s little loyalty on either side of the divide, because everyone’s simply looking out for their own benefit, and seeking where they can improve it. Employers are trying to squeeze every last penny out of their employees, while the employees are becoming less interested and efficient every day.
Now, for us believers, it seems we have forgotten the practical advice that Bruh Paul offered, first to the Corinthians, then to the Colossians. To the Corinthians re food, he says it thus: ‘Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.’ (1 Cor. 10:31) Then to the church at Colossae, re putting on the new man, he directs them: ‘And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. (Col. 3:17)
Then in the next passage he advises: ‘Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as men pleasers; but in singleness (sincerity) of heart, fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.’ (Col. 3:22-25)
And sometime recently, possibly last week, we considered that same passage of scripture, pointing out that regardless of who we are, whatsoever we do, should be done with diligence and excellence, as though we were working directly for God, and not men. And that’s the only way to handle uncomfortable or unlikeable situations in which we find ourselves. Consider we’re doing it for Almighty God, and that ought to lessen the irritation, pain or dislike, because when we work for Him, our attitude is always right. (smile)
And the wisest man ever, Cousin Sol, as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes, when talking about living joyfully, says: ‘Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.’ (Eccl. 9:10) And we know that’s true, so we might as well do whatever we do here well and also enjoy it.
Then Peter adds his two cents worth as he talks about how believers ought to behave, ‘as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles (utterances) of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever. Amen.’ (1Pet. 4:10b-11)
Yes mih bredrin, it’s not always easy to do, but in whatever aspect of life we are involved, the glory of God must always be our number one priority. We need to behave as though it’s God we’re directly doing it for, so that no bad stain can be attached to His name through our actions, or inaction. That’s just the way the believer’s life ought to be lived. And to help us do it like we ought to, (smile) let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid.
Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face.
So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And if we truly desire divine aid, then we must up the ante on our Christian behaviour, because right now it’s definitely not good enough! Much LOVE!
…to truly live for Christ…is to always be the best we can be…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
27 Oct 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a godly requirement to do our best, a merciful forgiving and gracious God, a sincere disposition, as men pleasers, as to the Lord and not unto men, be enthusiastic in carrying out menial tasks, beneficial influence, control all areas of a Christian's life, discipleship, divine aid, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, do all to the glory of God, do it with thy might, do our own thing, faith, falling on deaf ears, fearing God, get something for nothing, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him, greedy, grin and bear it, he that doeth wrong, hold our heads and bawl, holy spirit, humble ourselves, humble servants, if any man will come after me, in our prayer lies the solution to our problems, in singleness of heart, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, jobs that are not motivating us, keep your promise to prosper us, knowing that of the Lord, lazy, let him deny himself, let's get to work, LOVE, mass confusion, mercy, no respect of persons, not with eyeservice, not working on the Lord's behalf, nothing is truly free, numerous distractions, obey in all things your masters, please ease the pain, praise Your Holy Name, promised to hear and answer our prayers, receive for the wrong he has done, receive the reward of the inheritance, salvation, sincere repentance, sincerely seeking God's face, sinned and seriously disobeyed your word, take up his cross daily and follow me, the bane of our work ethic, the boss is looking over your shoulders, the God who heals, the indwelling word of Christ, the many suffering from negative situations, the power to solve our problems, the reward which is salvation, the throne of grace, there is no work device knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, time to get back into the evil and ungodly world, to alleviate our problems, truth, turn from our evil ways, unethical, we serve God not man, whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, whatsoever ye do do it heartily, whatsoever ye do in word or deed, wisdom, wise advice, wise guidance, work at jobs we don't like, ye serve the Lord Christ
Colossians 3:23. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not unto men;
Unfortunately friends, after Sunday comes Monday, a day which many of us thoroughly dislike, because it means it’s time to get back out into the evil, ungodly world, that abounds with numerous distractions, and labour at jobs that we either don’t like or are not motivating us to improve our capabilities.
But please remember we’re not in this for ourselves, but for Jesus, and thus we need to grin and bear whatever sacrifice(s) that are necessary to further His kingdom. That’s why Jesus specifically laid out this condition for discipleship. ‘If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23)
And the important thing to notice in that sentence is the provision for daily discipleship, not when you feel like it, or when it’s convenient. But we like to do our own thing, and when it backfires on us, we hold our heads and bawl and wonder why. Of course it’s going to backfire if you’re not working on the Lord’s behalf. And there are so many scriptures that warn, as well as encourage us to always do our best, in whatever we do, and consider that we’re doing it unto the Lord.
As Bruh Paul says to the Colossians. ‘And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.’ (Col. 3:17) And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘The beneficial influence produced by the indwelling word of Christ is not only to affect public and private worship (vs.16), but it is also to control all areas of a Christian’s life.’ Yes friends, our Christian faith is to be showcased in all areas of our lives, not only in worship.
And then, a few verses later, Bruh Paul further issues these directives on the topic. ‘Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness (sincerity) of heart, fearing God. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.’ (Col. 3:22-25)
Ah my people, those poignant words still hold true for today…possibly even truer for today than when Bruh Paul first wrote them, for there is a greater population of Christian servants and workers today than back then, and the times are possibly much more confusing and uncertain, therefore we need that wise advice even more desperately than the Colossian believers did. And the scholars offer these explanations on those verses.
As per Eyeservice; they describe it as work done only when the master is watching. Christian slaves were to work hard even when their owners were absent. And are we ever good at eyeservice in these modern times, for it’s the bane of our current work ethic, it’s rampant wherever you go. Too many of us only work when the boss is looking over our shoulders, but once he turns his back…well, that’s another story.
Meanwhile singleness of heart means a “sincere disposition.” And do it heartily means the slave (worker) is to perform his slave duties (work) wholeheartedly, doing the best job he can with all his strength. A slave (worker) could be enthusiastic in carrying out his menial tasks because they were done, not so much for his earthly master (unto men), but for his heavenly Master (to the Lord).
Oh my fellow workers, can you imagine the increase in productivity such sincere and wholehearted efforts would make in today’s work environment! It would boggle our minds, because right now too many of us don’t put out our best efforts at our jobs, but we certainly want to get the same amount of pay and benefits for making a sub-standard effort.
And, as per the reward of the inheritance (or “the reward which is salvation); they say, the fact that Christian slaves will receive salvation from the Lord rather than from men verifies the assertion in verse 23 that they serve Christ, and not their masters. The very same thing applies to us today my faithful brethren. We serve God, not mankind, or those who pay our wages, but we do have a godly requirement to always do our best.
And no topic of scripture would be complete without a word from the wisest man ever, Cousin Sol. (smile) So listen to him give this wise and wonderful advice from Ecclesiastes, as the Preacher. ‘Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave wither thou goest.’ (Eccl. 9:10)
Wiser words were never spoken my people, but like it’s all falling on deaf ears these days, as our society has become so lazy, greedy and unethical, where our main intention is to get something for nothing as often as possible. We fail to consider that nothing is really free, for someone has to pay for it somewhere along the food chain. But all we care about is that it’s not us. Anyway, to help us in our earthly endeavours, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid.
Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And it’s rather interesting, that right in our prayer lies the solution to many of our problems; humbling ourselves, sincerely seeking God through prayer, and overall, turning from our evil ways. Now do we truly want divine aid? Then let’s get to work nuh! Much LOVE!
…whether therefore ye eat…or drink…or whatsoever ye do…do all to the glory of God… (1 Cor. 10:31)
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
02 Jun 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a grumpy and tired tempo, a lawless society, a sense of responsibility, adhering to God's principles, alleviate our problems, an integral part of our lives, as to the Lord, cast off restraint, Christians, didn't rest enough, disobeyed your word, divine aid, divine revelation, do a job, do it heartily, do it with thy might, excessive supervision, faith, get away with murder, godly wisdom, he that doeth wrong, he that keepeth the law; happy is he, hear and answer our prayers, hellfire and damnation, holy spirit, humble ourselves, humble servants, indisputable truth, invoked the will of God, irresponsible leaders, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, knowing that of the Lord, lack of a work ethic, lenient supervision, LOVE, mercy, Monday, morning rush hour, no consideration for others, no godly pride in ourselves, no respect, no respect of persons, not unto men, omnipotent help, pray, prosperous, receive for the wrong he has done, receive the reward of the inheritance, regrettable actions, repentance, road rage, salvation, set the tempo, shirking of responsibilities, show this evil world, sincere repentance in our hearts, sincerely seek your face, strong faith in Christ, the BIBLE, the day we love to hate, the first day of our work week, the God who heals, the importance of obedience, the people perish, the power to solve our problems, the throne of grace, the work cycle, there is no work device knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, to the best of our ability, truth, turn back to God, understanding of God's will, ungodly parents, we have all sinned, whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, whatsoever you do, where there is no vision, wisdom, wise guidance, work ethic, ye serve the Lord Christ, your awesome grace and mercy
Colossians 3:23. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
Good ole Monday is here again friends! The day we all LOVE to hate, but cannot get away from, no matter how hard we try. (smile) That’s because Monday is an integral part of our lives; the first day of our work week, when we’re supposed to set the tempo for the remainder of the week. But unfortunately, on most Mondays, we set a grumpy, lazy, and tired tempo because we didn’t rest enough on the weekend, neither were we properly prepared to tackle Monday, as we ought to.
We need to understand that once we break the work cycle for a couple of days, it’s hard to get restarted unless we plan and actually get ready for it. A couple of generations ago, that was much easier to do since there weren’t as many activities to engage our free time as we now have. And if we don’t actively plan for a return to work, we’ll most likely end up frustrated, and annoyed, especially when we get out to face the early morning rush hour traffic. That’s a good harbinger of road rage, of anger spilling over into violence and foolish, regrettable actions.
What makes our society even less desirable and competent is the lack of a work ethic among the younger generation, who sadly feel that they are entitled to much more than they are. Back in the day, although we might not like our job, we tried to do it to the best of our ability, because we were getting paid for it and were not allowed to slack off and fool around like we do nowadays. Granted, back then it was somewhat draconian, yes, the supervision and expectation might have been a tad excessive, unlike today where it’s excessively lenient and workers can get away with murder.
The problem is that we no longer have a sense of responsibility like we once had. Irresponsibility is today’s motto. Just look at how the young generation behaves; no respect, so consideration for others, just selfishly concerned about their own welfare. They have no godly pride in themselves and the work they do. Although that truly stems from the declining responsibility and work ethic of our overall society, meaning the fault of lawless, irresponsible and ungodly leaders and parents.
Remember the wise words of Cousin Sol? ‘Where there is no vision (prophetic vision or revelation), the people perish (cast off restraint): but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.’ (Prov, 29:18) And that’s the indisputable truth! Where there is no divine revelation of God’s will, the people will just do as they selfishly and ungodly please. Without the moral will of God running through the very veins of a society, it will soon become lawless and disintegrate, just like our society is currently doing.
And this commentary explains the verse thus: ‘It highlights the importance of having a clear purpose, direction, and understanding of God’s will for a society or individual. When there is no such vision, people lose their sense of purpose, become unrestrained, and ultimately suffer. The verse also mentions that those who keep God’s law are blessed, highlighting the importance of obedience and adhering to God’s principles.’
And we’ve seen the truth in that right down through the ages. Every society that invoked the will of God became prosperous. However, when they got prosperous, they got proud and arrogant and unwisely figured that it was on their own strength. Obviously they then lost that godly vision, so the society began to decay and finally crumbled into oblivion.
But there’s a basic motto to which we could all adhere that will solve most of our current work and relational problems. It’s this wisdom from Bruh Paul to the Colossians. ‘And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.’ (Col. 3:23-25)
Yes my brethren, it’s as simple as that! If we do everything as unto God and not as unto man, we will do a much better job. There’ll be less laziness and shirking or dodging of our responsibilities, more togetherness and God will prosper our society. For remember if you do God’s will, He rewards you, but if you don’t, you’ll feel the sting of His disfavour.
Meanwhile, Cousin Sol says it this way as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes. ‘Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.’ (Eccl. 9:10) That’s more indisputable truth friends! In the grave there’s nothing but death, so we need to reserve our place with God while we’re alive, and that means doing our best with His will in mind. So, in these rather rough and uncertain times, lets’ go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid.
Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face.
So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And, from our prayer we can all see what’s necessary to receive that divine aid; humbling ourselves, praying, sincerely seeking God’s face with true repentance in our hearts. So, if we truly want God’s omnipotent help, then let’s seriously begin turning back to Him nuh. That’s godly wisdom at its best! Much LOVE!
…for our world to avoid hellfire and damnation…we must turn back to God…RIGHT NOW…it’s that simple…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
19 May 2025
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a different take on the situation, a mental disposition, a modicum of circumspection, a tough row to hoe, according to the flesh, an attitude, answer our prayers, any good thing a man does, as men pleasers, as unto Christ, as unto the Lord and not unto men, at loggerheads, be he bond or free, be obedient to your masters, bubbling over with excitement in God's service, careful concern, despondent, diligence in God's work, dire need of salvation, disgruntled employees, disobeyed your word, distraught, do a good job, do it heartily, do it with thy might, do the same things to your servants, doing service as to the Lord and not to men, doing the will of God, earn a living, enthusiastic service, eternal life, excellence, faith, fervent in spirit, forbearing threatening, fraud, from the heart, greed, he that doeth wrong, holy spirit, human masters, humble ourselves, in a reciprocal manner, in singleness of heart, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, judge without partaility, knowing that of the Lord, lagging in diligence, LOVE, mass confusion, masters, mercy, negative situations, no device or knowledge in the grave, no respect of persons, no respect of persons with God, no wisdom, no work, not slothful in business, not with eyeservice, receive the reward of the inheritance, renders obedience out of sincerity, repentance, respect, reverential respect, salvation, servants, servants of Christ, shall receive for the wrong that he hath done, sick, sincerely seek your face, sincerity of heart, slovenly in doing Jesus' work, strife, strong faith in Christ, thank you for life, the BIBLE, the God who heals, the Lord does not show favouritism, the same shall he receive from the Lord, truth, turn from our evil ways, uncertain about the times we live in, we have all sinned, what a joy it is, whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, whatsoever you do, wisdom, wise guidance, with fear and trembling, with good will, work ethic, working for men, ye serve the Lord Christ, your Master is in heaven
Colossians 3:23. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
Oh my Scrip-Bit friends and families, what a joy it is to greet you on this Victoria Day Holiday Monday! Hope that your celebrations are going well on this sunny but not awfully warm day. Thankfully though the wind is not as strong as it’s been for the last two days. However, we do pray that there’s a modicum of circumspection taking place in the celebrations because tomorrow we have to go out and earn a living, and we can’t be sick or slovenly in doing Jesus’s work. No sir! Jesus expects excellence and diligence at all times from His earthly representatives.
Now, some of us might say that we’re working for men, but the Lord has an entirely different take on the situation, as Bruh Paul reminds us in his letter to the Colossians. ‘And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.’ (Col. 3:23-25)
Yes my fellow believers, we ought to consider ourselves servants of Christ in everything we do, for in the long run, it’s from the Lord that we will receive our rewards, be they for good or for bad, because the Lord does not show favouritism. And there’s’ an interesting corresponding verse from Cousin Sol writing as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes. He says: ‘Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave (Sheol), whither thou goest.’ (Eccl. 9:10)
And that’s the living truth! There’s no working or otherwise in the grave. So whatever you do when alive, make sure you give it your best effort, especially when that’s what our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ expects of His disciples. As Bruh Paul mentions in Romans, when he speaks about overcoming good with evil: ‘Not slothful in business (lagging in diligence); fervent in spirit (lit., boiling over), serving the Lord.’ (Rom. 12:11) That means we ought to be bubbling over with excitement in God’s service.
So, although we cannot always be excited and enthusiastic, we Christians of today can certainly be much more enthusiastic and excited about Christ than many of us are. That’s why the world is so distraught, despondent, and uncertain about the times we live in; believers are not spreading enough of the joy of the Lord, letting the unbelievers know of His imminent return and the dire need for them to accept Him as Lord and Saviour if they want to receive salvation and eternal life.
And I guess this passage on Servants and Masters in Bruh Paul’s letter to the Ephesians covers the whole spectrum of the subject. ‘Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness (sincerity) of heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond (slave) or free. And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing (giving up) threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.’ (Eph. 6:5-9)
Now what does all of that mean? The scholars offer these explanations. The masters according to the flesh, means their human masters. And slaves, or servants ought to carry out their duties with fear and trembling is that they ought to do a good job with reverential respect for their masters. Meanwhile singleness of heart refers to a mental disposition, an attitude that renders obedience out of sincerity, not hypocrisy. As unto Christ explains why servants should obey masters in the manner prescribed here: obedience rendered to their masters is obedience rendered to Christ.
And singleness of heart, or sincere disposition excludes eyeservice, that is duty performed only when the master is watching; but it includes doing the will of God from the heart, that is, enthusiastic service coming from within and not having to be coerced by external pressure. Good will means “good intention.” The Christian servant (employee) seeks the best interest of his master (employer).
And the basis for the servant’s “good intention” toward his master is his being recompensed by the Lord – both in this life and in the one to come – the same good he has performed in his servant duties. Finally, earthly masters are to behave in a reciprocal manner toward their slaves (servants) (i.e., with respect, sincerity, and careful concern). For earthly masters have a heavenly Master who will judge them without partiality.’
Wow! Can you imagine if we had a world like that where the majority of employees and employers treated each other with respect and concern for each other! It would be a great place! Sadly though, the opposite is true. Employers and employees are always at loggerheads, trying to get the best of each other. No wonder the workplace is filled with so much strife, greed, fraud and disgruntled employers and employees. And the only way that is ever going to change, or improve, is if we believers up the ante, through our better work ethic and Christ-like joy spreading. (smile)
And we can certainly do it with the Lord’s help…if we try. The problem though is getting us to try. Anyway, right now, we need to go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn seeking divine aid, to help us turn things around. Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
Ah friends, it’s a tough row we have to hoe, but for Jesus’ sake, in gratitude for all that He’s done for us, I implore us to put our hearts, minds, bodies and souls into achieving a better world! Much LOVE!
…unless we sincerely give Jesus first place in our lives…and live for Him only…our world will never improve…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
27 Oct 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a disgruntled populace, a means of restoring faith in you, all men shall know ye are my disciples, and now abideth faith hope love, as unto the Lord and not unto men, being obedient to God's will, do it with all thy might, don't like our jobs, embrace your love and compassion, for ye serve the Lord Jesus Christ, Friday chant, going the extra mile, he that doeth wrong, if ye have love one to another, if you love me keep my commandments, Jesus Christ, LOVE, love covers a multitude of sins, Love makes the world go round, of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of inheritance, omnipotent help, only for the money, return backsliders to your fold, shall receive for the wrong that he hath done, simmering unrest, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the error of their ways, the example we faithful believers set, the greatest of these is charity (love), the Ten Commandments, there is no respect of persons, there is no work device knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, trusting faith, turning the other cheek, ungodly times, whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, whatsoever ye do do it heartily, wisdom, wise guidance, work by rote
Colossians 3:23. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
So it’s Friday, and the universal shout of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ has gone up all around the world! What a world! When all we seem to live for is Friday and the upcoming weekend. It’s all about getting away from the boring, same old, same old jobs that we do during the week, a lot of them by rote, that’s automatically, without having to think about what we’re doing. And, unfortunately, not a great percentage of us like our jobs, we just put up with them because they earn us the money to keep our lives going.
What a sad thing it is when so many of us spend a lifetime doing jobs that we don’t like and are just looking forward to retirement and the time when we no longer have to do those mundane and boring jobs. It doesn’t say a whole lot for our society, when so many of our populace are disgruntled and dissatisfied. But thankfully, today we will learn how to avoid that self-defeating attitude of despising our jobs.
First up, these wise words of Bruh Paul in his letter to the Colossians. ‘And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Jesus Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.’ (Col. 3:23-25)
And all that means is that believers, regardless of our station in life – be it the lowliest worker or highest paid leader – ought to do the best work they can despite their circumstances, to work as though they were working directly for God and not for men. And that’s a fact too, because in the long run, it’s the Lord who will richly reward them for their good work, while repaying, without partiality, the wrong doers with judgement for their evil deeds.
And just in case you don’t believe Bruh Paul, then listen as Cousin Sol puts in in his perspective, writing as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes. He writes: ‘Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.’ (Eccl. 9:10) And isn’t that the awesome truth! It certainly is. That means whatever we do on earth is our portion to do, since there’s no working in the grave. Thus, we ought to do to the best of our ability and as though we’re doing it unto our Creator, Almighty God!
And above all, remember these key words of Jesus to the disciples: ‘If you LOVE me, keep my commandments.’ (John 14:15). Now that also pertains to us in this age. And what does He mean by that? He means that we should not only keep the basic Ten commandments, but also the moral commandments that He gave us. Like LOVING one another, going the extra mile, turning the other cheek, doing unto others as we desire them to do unto us, being excellent and diligent in our work, not being too judgemental or critical of others, especially when we’re guilty of the same things.
It’s those sorts of things that Jesus was more concerned about, things that were not written down as Old Testament law, but as His New Testament directives. It’s well documented about not killing and stealing nor committing adultery, but not His ways and the ways He wants us to follow. And besides, they were and still are in direct opposition to those of the world. And as He said earlier on: ‘By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’ (John 13:35)
Yes my fellow believers, ALL that Jesus teaches can be confirmed in one small but ever so powerful word: LOVE! If we go about showing the LOVE of Jesus, doing the same basic things He did, to the best of our human capabilities, then we’re keeping His commandment. For remember Bruh Paul’s treatise on LOVE in what we term the LOVE chapter; that’s 1 Corinthians 13:, where he enlightens us on all the wonderful things that constitute LOVE. Things like long-suffering, kindness, not given to boasting or arrogance, doesn’t behave rudely or selfishly, doesn’t think nor rejoice in evil, but rejoices in truth, etc. etc.
Then he ends with this perfect gem: ‘And now abideth faith, hope, charity (LOVE), these three, but the greatest of these is charity (LOVE).’ (1 Cor. 13:13) Oh my people, LOVE is indeed God’s greatest attribute, and He expects His followers to walk in the footsteps of His Son Jesus Christ, whom He gave to be crucified for our sins because He LOVED us. It’s as simple as that my brethren. The Lord doesn’t expect anything from us that He won’t do or hasn’t done himself.
And as we go out today, let’s remember these most poignant and true words of Peter. ‘And above all things, have fervent charity (LOVE) among yourselves: for charity (LOVE) shall cover the multitude of sins.’ (1 Pet. 4:8) And isn’t that the gospel truth! The LOVE of God towards us made Him send Jesus to die and cover our sins, and the LOVE we show to others, also covers both their sins and ours. So in one word, it’s all about LOVE! And having come to that awesome conclusion (smile) let’s now go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking the deep and sincere LOVE that we need to restore some sense of balance to our angry and terribly unbalanced world.
As one voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And the only way to receive divine help is by turning away from our evil deeds and being obedient to God’s will. So let’s do that now nuh, if we truly desire to hear a positive word from heaven. Much LOVE!
… LOVE makes the world go round…both literally and figuratively…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
