The Overwhelming Importance of Believers knowing God’s Amazing Faithfulness!

22 Sep 2024 Leave a comment

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

Lamentations 3:22-23.       Because of the LORD’s great LOVE we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

And once more, in the many times in our lives, we are called on to celebrate the Lord’s Day, preferably in His sanctuary, but wherever two or three believers are gathered, He’s promised to be there and listen to our prayers, our voices of thanksgiving and worship. So the important thing is not so much the place we are gathered, but that we are gathered in a place. (Matt. 18:20) (smile) 

And today’s song of worship is a most appropriate one in these dreadful and disastrous times. It was written by Franklin, Kentucky born, Thomas O. Chisholm. (1866-1960) He apparently wrote the poem in 1923 about God’s faithfulness over his lifetime then sent the song to William Runyan in Kansas. Runyan set the poem to music, and it was published that same year by Hope Publishing Company and became popular among church groups. 

And it is still very popular to this very day because it reassures us of God’s goodness and faithfulness. So, let’s send up sweet sacrifices of praise to heaven as we sing a mid-tempo, soulful version of the marvellous hymn, ‘Great is Thy Faithfulness!’ 

Singing: ‘Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father, there is no shadow of turning with thee. Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not; as thou hast been, thou forever wilt be. (Refrain: Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; all I have needed thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!) 

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest, sun, moon, and stars in their courses above join with all nature in manifold witness to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and LOVE. [Refrain] Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide, strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! 

(Refrain: Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; all I have needed thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! Oh yes, Lord, great is thy faithfulness unto me! Each and every day I experience it… And I give you much thanks and praise for it… For great is thy faithfulness Lord, yes, great is thy faithfulness…unto me…’ 

And isn’t that gospel truth my fellow believers? It most certainly is! Every single day we enjoy God’s faithfulness and new mercies because that’s the kind of God He is. And we see the author quoting James in the very first verse. ‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom there 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 firstfruits of his creatures.’ (James 1:17-18) 

Yes friends, God is the Creator of the universe and all therein, setting everything as stable as they can possibly be…until mankind interferes with them. However, He himself is as stable as the rock of ages. He’s immutable; does not change, which means we can rely on His awesome stability or faithfulness, in every circumstance. 

And one of the good things about this song is as this commentary states: ‘Unlike many hymns that have heart-wrenching stories behind them (for instance “It Is Well With My Soul”), “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” is inspired by the simple realization that God is at work in our lives on a daily basis. The hymn reminds us that God doesn’t only work in dramatic or miraculous ways, but also in simple, everyday ways. It also reminds us that Jesus has never failed us in the past, so we have no reason to doubt his faithfulness in the future.’ 

And that’s more gospel truth friends! The sad problem though is many of us don’t seek or even perceive God in the little things in our daily lives, we only think of Him being in the big things. But in reality, He is there in EVERYTHING! That’s how He operates, He takes pleasure in being involved in whatever we are doing, and that’s why His faithfulness is so awesome. For nothing we do escapes His presence, as He so faithfully promised through Moses, so long ago. ‘And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.’ (Deut. 31:8) 

Now, if we’re indeed true believers, and really looking for assurance, that’s a scripture we ought to have buried deep in our hearts, minds and souls, for it is the quintessential promise of God – Never to leave nor forsake us. So whatever is happening with us, He’s there right in the middle of it, we just have to acknowledge Him and ask His help. 

And in closing, I’d like to offer this other interesting commentary on the song and its writer. It says: ‘Thomas Chisholm, author of “Great is Thy Faithfulness” led a pretty ordinary life. He did not write this hymn during a period of intense grief or after encountering God in a profound way. Instead, he found truth in the words he encountered in Lamentations 3:22-23: “Because of the LORD’s great LOVE we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” 

Jeremiah, on the other hand, was in tumultuous circumstances when writing Lamentations. The people to whom he prophesied did not listen, and he was ostracized and completely alone because of what God called him to do. He also lamented the consequences of their faithlessness. God allowed them to be conquered by the Babylonians, resulting in their entire world being laid to waste. 

But in the midst of that utter devastation, Jeremiah still offers them hope on the horizon: they are not completely destroyed because of the LORD’s compassion and faithfulness, and in the morning, after this “dark night of the soul,” things will be better. So whether we are at a place in our lives where everything is pretty ordinary, or whether we are in a period of grief: no matter what our circumstances, God never changes and is faithful to us, sustaining us in his compassion and faithfulness each and every day.’ 

Oh my fellow saints, please, please, let’s remember that and put it to good use in these treacherous, strife-filled and hateful times, because it’s only for our benefit, not for God’s! Much LOVE!

…when one is offered the faithfulness of Almighty God…it’s foolish to turn it down…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   2 October 2022 Matthew 18:20.

02 Oct 2022 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 18:20.       For wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.​​

Come on down friends, it’s time once again to gather, by whatever means possible, and sing songs of praise, give thanks for our many blessings, and offer up worshipful adoration to our great God Jehovah, on this His day, Sunday! Consequently, we adhere to His commands to ‘Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy,’ as well as to restrain from toil for one day of the week, like He did when He created the world and all therein. (Ex. 20:8-11) And thankfully, that day is today. (smile) 

So let’s open with a short prayer. ‘Oh heavenly Father, we thank you for this day and all that You have prepared for us to enjoy in it. We thank You also  for enabling us to gather in worship, and ask that Your holy presence be amongst us as we do so in sincerity and truth, remembering the faithful promise of Your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour: ‘For wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.’ Please be in our midst as we open our hearts and souls to you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.’ And that promise of Jesus can be found in Matthew 18:20. 

Now, let’s raise our harmonious voices in sacrificial praise as we render a sweet, scintillating and oh so soulful version of this favourite song, written by Fernando Ortega, so aptly titled, ‘Give me Jesus!’ Wow friends, there’s no better gift we can ever receive than Jesus. So let’s make that plain as we sing it loud and clear, in all sincerity and truth, a la Danny Gokey’s version with the wonderful background voices of the diverse choir and the stirring music of the full orchestra. (smile) 

Singing: ‘Ohhh ohhh, Give me Jesus… In the morning, when I rise In the morning, when I rise In the morning, when I rise Give me Jesus. (Chorus: Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus.) When I am alone, Oh When I am alone, When I am alone, Give me Jesus. (Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus. For He is all that I need. Just give me Jesus) 

When I come to die, Oh, When I come to die, When I come to die, Give me Jesus. (Ohhhh Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus. Oh, it’s all I need, all I need is Jesus. So Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, You can have all this world, You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus, He’s all I need. He’s all I need. 

Give me Jesus…in the morning when I rise…when I lay my head down… when I wake up, when I lay my head down, said I need him, said I need you… said I only want Jesus…when I wake up… Just give me Jesus. All I need is him. We worship you, we worship you, say we worship you Lord. You’re the answer to my prayers, you’re the calm in the storm, you’re my rest and my refuge…oh yeahhh… Just give me Jesus…’  

Oh my fellow saints, that was ever so touching and heartfelt! And yes, the words are simple and somewhat repetitive, but the emotions of gratitude and appreciation they convey as they float over the rich music is certainly amazing, especially when they are sung sincerely from the heart, like we just did. And why is Jesus so important that we’d be willing to give up everything else in the world just for Him? 

Because He is our Lord and Saviour, our Leader, Guide and Good Shepherd! He left His privileged position in heaven, at the Father’s request and came to earth in man’s form to sacrifice His sinless life so that our abominable sins could be forgiven, have everlasting life and be once again made right with the Lord. Now if that isn’t the best example of selflessness, and therefore deserves our total surrender, thanks and gratitude, then I don’t know what is. 

And if you don’t believe me, then, please listen to how Bruh Paul explains Jesus to the Philippians. ‘Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made (coming) in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion  (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name. that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil. 2:6-11) 

Wow! That’s how special Jesus is my people! He left heaven as the Son of God and came to earth like a lowly servant, and learned obedience as a man, and gave His life to please the Father. And it’s not that Jesus so badly wanted to sacrifice His life nuh, but the Father desperately desired to save His ungrateful, disobedient, sinful creation called mankind, but found Himself between a rock and a hard place. Meaning, that to uphold His righteousness and justice, sin had to be paid for by death of a sinless soul, and since Jesus was the ONLY sinless soul available, He had to band His jaw and sacrifice His one Son. That was the ONLY way to carry out the LOVING feeling in His heart. 

And as we said earlier on, it wasn’t that Jesus badly wanted to take the sins of the whole world on His shoulder, for remember the night before His crucifixion, in the Garden of Gethsemane, three times He knelt and prayed to the Father: ‘O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.’ (Matt. 26:39) 

Now, according to the scholars, that didn’t mean that Jesus obviously feared death, ‘but it is more likely the cup represents the wrath of God against sin, the divine wrath Christ would incur on the cross as man’s sin-bearer. In the awful anguish of that moment, the sin of the world was poured on Christ, and He became “sin for us” (2 Cor. 5:21) Thus, the Righteous One dies a substitutionary death for guilty mankind.’

 Remember His heart-breaking cry on the cross: ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ (Matt: 27:46) Yes friends, it broke Jesus’ heart because that was the ONLY time the Father ever turned away from Him, because He was ugly and repugnant in the Father’s eyes, burdened with the sins of the world. But then, three days later, He rose victorious from the dead, having defeated Satan on his own turf and ascended back to the Father to take His rightful place at His right hand. 

And that’s why He’s all we ever want and need! He’s such a magnificent example to all of mankind, in terms of sacrifice, obedience, and every other thing you can think of, why He’s in such high demand, why He’s our empathetic High Priest and Advocate, as well as the Lord of Lord, and King of Kings! Much LOVE!

…there’s nothing…or no one to compare with JESUS…it’s as simple as that…  

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8​