The Cross of Christ is where Man’s Salvation was bought with His Sinless Blood!

07 Dec 2025 Leave a comment

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

1 Timothy 2:5.        For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

It’s got to be Sunday friends, for there’s a slight decline in the noise level of our world, and that only happens on Sundays, the Lord’s Day. (smile) That means we must get up and out to His sanctuary to worship and fellowship with other believers, so that our souls and spirits can be renewed and refreshed, thus enabling us to face another week of work with confidence and calm. 

And our song of worship for today is one we all know and LOVE, and one I found myself singing a lot this week. I don’t know why, but that made me believe we should sing it today. The hymn is simply titled ‘At the Cross.’  It’s one of the many popular hymns written by the famous hymn writer Isaac Watts (1674 –1748).  He became a pastor and wrote poems and hymns to go with his sermons. This one was published in 1707, and quickly became a favourite, and has been used by many evangelists during their crusades. 

The song is basically about salvation, which means it ought to be very important to us. So, let’s offer up our sweet sacrifices of praise in a mid-tempo, heartfelt version of this great song. And to get it rocking and rolling, we’ll begin with the wonderful refrain. Singing: ‘(Refrain: At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day!) Alas! and did my Savior bleed And did my Sovereign die? Would He devote that sacred head For sinners such as I? 

(Refrain:) Thy body slain, sweet Jesus, Thine— And bathed in its own blood— While the firm mark of wrath divine, His Soul in anguish stood. (Refrain) Was it for crimes that I had done He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! grace unknown! And love beyond degree! (Refrain) Well might the sun in darkness hide And shut his glories in, When Christ, the mighty Maker died, For man the creature’s sin. (Refrain) Thus might I hide my blushing face While His dear cross appears, Dissolve my heart in thankfulness, And melt my eyes to tears. 

(Refrain) But drops of grief can ne’er repay The debt of love I owe: Here, Lord, I give my self away ’Tis all that I can do. (Refrain: At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day! Now I am happy all the day…happy all the day…happy all the day…’ 

That was a great rendition friends, for it came sincerely from our hearts, showing how thankful we are to Jesus Christ for securing salvation for us. It’s like Bruh Paul wrote to Timothy, re prayers for all men. ‘For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.’ (1 Tim. 2:3-6) 

Yes friends, there’s only ONE God, and He desires that all men, regardless of colour, creed or race, be saved and come to know the truth. And He’s provided for that through only ONE Person, His Son Jesus Christ who gave His life on the cross of Calvary that mankind could have the option of being saved, by accepting Him as Lord and Saviour. Note that Christ gave His life a ransom for ALL, not merely some. And the scholars tell us that ‘to be testified in due time, (or, proof given at the right time) means that Jesus’ sacrifice is “proof” of God’s wish for all to be converted.’ 

And Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf was so great that we can hardly believe it. But when we look at the cross that’s when the light of His glory shines forth on us. As the refrain so sincerely puts it: ‘At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day!)’ 

Oh my people, there is indeed great reason to be happy all the day, because when we accept Christ as Lord and Saviour, we receive salvation and eternal life. For as Jesus said to Nicodemus, ‘For God so LOVED world, he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:16-17) 

That says it all my brethren! God desired to save His human creation, and the only way it could be done justly and righteously was through the sacrificing of some sinless person, and Jesus was the only sinless person in the universe, thus the horrific task of paying for man’s sins fell on His shoulders. And we’re proud to say, that He bore them like a man. 

That’s why the song says in great wonder: ‘Alas! and did my Savior bleed And did my Sovereign die? Would He devote that sacred head For sinners such as I? Thy body slain, sweet Jesus, Thine— And bathed in its own blood— While the firm mark of wrath divine, His Soul in anguish stood. Was it for crimes that I had done He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! grace unknown! And love beyond degree!’ 

Now, although it’s hard to believe, that’s exactly what happened. God’s LOVE was so profound that it baffled us then, and still baffles us today. That’s why the song ends: ‘Thus might I hide my blushing face While His dear cross appears, Dissolve my heart in thankfulness, And melt my eyes to tears. But drops of grief can ne’er repay The debt of LOVE I owe: Here, Lord, I give myself away ’Tis all that I can do.’ 

Oh my fellow believers, that’s oh so true! For though our tears and grief may be truly heart felt, they can NEVER repay the debt of LOVE that we owe Christ. And the only way to mitigate some of our debt is by surrendering ourselves completely to Him, thus making Him our Lord and Saviour. That’s wisdom of the highest order! So, please let’s attain to it nuh! Much LOVE!

…all Christ desires of us…is to accept the salvation He’s so sacrificially provided…

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

The Overwhelming Importance of Believers Understanding the Complexities of the Cross of Jesus and the Free Gift of Salvation!

30 Mar 2025 Leave a comment

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

1 Timothy 2:5.       For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ;

That blessed day of the Lord, Sunday is upon us once more my faithful brethren, so, despite the rainy weather, let’s make full use of it by joining in fellowship with other believers, wherever it’s possible, to give thanks and praise to our great and wonderful God, and receive His awesome grace, mercy and truth so that we can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body, mind and spirit and continue to be the bright shining lights and salty, flavour filled people, He desires us to be! 

Now, that’s a good sentence to begin the Bit with; long, and somewhat unwieldy, (smile) but filled with good reasons for worshipping God! And we’ll open today with an old but very popular hymn written by that master hymn writer, Isaac Watts (1674 – 1748). It’s estimated that Watts wrote over 600 hymns in his lifetime, including this one published in 1707, which has been used by many evangelists during crusades. It’s titled ‘At The Cross,’ with the main theme being salvation, the greatest gift that mankind has ever received. 

So, let’s offer up real sweet sacrifices of praise in a mid to up-tempo, soulful rendition of the song, all the while considering the significant words and sentiments of the song as they very definitely apply to all of us. Singing: ‘(Refrain: At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day!) ‘Alas! and did my Savior bleed And did my Sovereign die? Would He devote that sacred head For sinners such as I? 

(Refrain) Thy body slain, sweet Jesus, Thine— And bathed in its own blood— While the firm mark of wrath divine, His Soul in anguish stood. (Refrain) Was it for crimes that I had done He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! grace unknown! And LOVE beyond degree! (Refrain) Well might the sun in darkness hide And shut his glories in, When Christ, the mighty Maker died, For man the creature’s sin. (Refrain) Thus might I hide my blushing face While His dear cross appears, Dissolve my heart in thankfulness, And melt my eyes to tears. 

(Refrain) But drops of grief can ne’er repay The debt of LOVE I owe: Here, Lord, I give my self away ’Tis all that I can do. At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day! Now I am happy all the day…happy all the day…happy all the day…’ 

Ah friends, what beautiful sentiments and words describing how Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary so that we abominable sinners could have the awesome gift of salvation. As the song so picturesquely describes it: ‘When Christ, the mighty Maker died, For man the creature’s sin.’ And you better believe it was a very steep price that Jesus paid for our redemption. The song puts it thus: ‘Thy body slain, sweet Jesus, Thine— And bathed in its own blood— While the firm mark of wrath divine, His Soul in anguish stood.’ 

Yes my brethren, Jesus withstood ‘the firm mark of divine wrath,’ all because of ‘Amazing pity! grace unknown! And LOVE beyond degree!’ Jesus withstood the Father’s divine wrath to pay our sin debt, all because of an unbelievable degree of LOVE for us poor sinners. Remember these heart stopping words of the scriptures? ‘And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ (Matt. 27:46) 

Yes, the Father had turned His face away from the bearer of the world’s sin. And it was the first and only time that Jesus had ever been separated from the Father. Can you imagine the agony He must have gone through, both physical and spiritual, all for a bunch of ungrateful sinners? No, we definitely cannot! But are we thankful for it? It certainly doesn’t seem so, with the manner in which so many of us have stubbornly and caustically refused to accept Him as Lord and Saviour, while blaspheming His holy name. 

But Jesus’ ‘sufferation’ and crucifixion is now a done deed, as He solemnly concluded on the cross. ‘It is finished: and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost (his spirit).’ (John 19:30) And though it broke the Father’s heart to turn away from His sin filled Son, it was His yearning for us to be saved that precipitated that situation. 

As Bruh Paul writes to Timothy: ‘For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.’ (1 Tim. 2:3-6) 

Yes my fellow saints, the Lord wanted all men to have the option of salvation, and the only way it could be accomplished was by the sacrificial death of a sinless person, and Christ was the only person deemed sinless. But He was so obedient to the Father’s will, and wanted whatever the Father wanted, that He willingly gave up His sinless life to satiate the need for a sacrificial blood offering. And these awesome words of Peter ought to touch our hearts this Sunday morning, as he writes: 

‘For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was deceit (guile) found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again (in return); when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who 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 of your souls.’ (1 Pet. 2: 21-25) 

Now, friends, you cannot get a better word on our situation than that! So, I do hope that all we’ve said today will help us be better examples for Christ, for we definitely need to upgrade our spiritual lives. Much LOVE!

…salvation is a free gift from God…but it’s not automatic…you must use your free will…to choose it…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 March 2020 1 Timothy 2:4.

01 Mar 2020 Leave a comment

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

1 Timothy 2:4.    ​Who will have (desires) all men to be saved, and come unto the knowledge of truth.
 
Well a fine Sunday morning to you my friends and neighbours! I do hope the Lord has blessed you mightily….and you better believe He has if you are reading this missive! (smile) He has indeed blessed us with the wonderful breath of life and clear eyesight to see the words I write. So for just that we ought to be eternally grateful. And if you add all the other blessings, then I don’t think we have the capacity for enough gratitude, (smile) but we’ll certainly try. 

And one of the ways we’ll do it is by gathering today, on His special day, in His holy sanctuary, or wherever we can, to praise and give thanks and hear His mighty Word. Oh my people, there’s nothing more moving and momentous that a group of believers fellowshipping with sincere praise and thanksgiving! 

So as always, let’s begin our proceedings with this old favourite by Isaac Watts, titled ‘At the Cross.’ And was that ever a turning point in the annals of man! So let’s convince heaven of our heartfelt thanks for Jesus’ death on the cross, and all that it accomplished in our sinful lives. 

As one, in strong, soulful and harmonious voice: ‘Alas! and did my Savior bleed And did my Sov’reign die? Would He devote that sacred head For such a worm as I? (Refrain: At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day!) Was it for crimes that I had done He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! grace unknown! And love beyond degree! 

(Refrain) Well might the sun in darkness hide And shut his glories in, When Christ, the mighty Maker died, For man the creature’s sin. (Refrain) Thus might I hide my blushing face While His dear cross appears, Dissolve my heart in thankfulness, And melt my eyes to tears. (Refrain) But drops of grief can ne’er repay The debt of LOVE I owe: Here, Lord, I give myself away, ’Tis all that I can do. 

(Refrain: At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day! At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight, And now I am happy all the day!’

Oh my people, my people, the wonder of the cross…words cannot truly describe it. Because it was there that the whole world was turned upside down and a new era in mankind’s story began! The story of salvation, of reconciliation, of total forgiveness, of redemption, justification, sanctification…and all the other good things that flowed…and are still flowing from Jesus’ selfless sacrifice on the cross at Calvary! 

And as the song so rightly says: ‘Drops of grief can ne’er repay The debt of LOVE I owe.’ And is that ever the gospel truth friends! No amount of tears, of heartfelt eyes water can ever repay the debt of LOVE that we owe our heavenly Father. I’m sure our puny and finite minds can’t even begin to understand the heartbreak He felt in having to crucify His one and only, so amazing Son, so that a bunch of stubborn, hard-hearted sinners could have the option to be set free. 

But such was His LOVE for us, that He took the one holy, just and righteous avenue open to Him. And it wasn’t by chance He did that either nuh, but by conscious design. Why yuh think? Listen to Bruh Paul in his first letter to Timothy, as he exhorts him to constant prayer. ‘For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have (desires) all men to be saved, and come unto the knowledge of truth.’ (1 Tim. 2:3-4) 

Yes friends, that has been the Lord’s desire ever since the day He kicked Adam and Eve out of the Garden. He doesn’t want to lose even one single soul of His most precious creation to the evil fool Satan. That’s why He went to such awesome lengths to get us back into right standing with Him. And He’s been saying it all the time. 

Listen to Him speak through the prophet Ezekiel: ‘Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God; and not that he should return from his ways, and live?… For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.’ (Ezek. 18:23; 32) 

Yes my breddren, our magnanimous and magnificent God doesn’t want even those who want eternal death to die! How much more does He have to so to convince us to change from our wicked ways and live eh? I really don’t know if there’s any more He can do, except strip us of our free will and make us come to Him automatically. But He’s not going to do that, because He promised us free will and He doesn’t renege on His promises. 

And yuh know the second part of our Bit which talks about coming to the knowledge of the truth? Well here is what the Lord said through Jeremiah on the subject. ‘Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercises LOVING-kindness, judgement (justice) and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.’ (Jer. 9:23-24) 

For sure, my fellow believers, the KNOWLEDGE OF GOD IS MAN’S GLORY! And until we know that, accept it, and live it we’ll keep on being lost! And it’s only fitting to close with the words of Jesus on the topic. He said this when He prayed for His own. ‘And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent.’ (John 17:3) 

Yeh friends, knowing the ONE true God, through His Son Jesus Christ, is the ONLY WAY to eternal life! So let’s get smart and get to know Him nuh, so that come the last day, we will not find ourselves on the outside looking in, for that’s the worst thing that can happen to a human soul. Much LOVE!

…to know God…is to know the glorious truth…and be set free… 

P.S. Didn’t do anything yesterday because of the stormy weather. They wouldn’t even allow to me get a dip in the salt since it was so rough. I did get a burger and some jerk pork over at the beach hut though, and washed it down with two nameless exotic pink cocktails. (smile) Today is sunny, so let’s see what the Lord will bring to pass in my life. Much LOVE!